Harry Potter and the Maneosioan War
by meg2089kul
Summary: Harry is subconsciously falling for a certain close female friend. In the mean time, he and his friends realize that sufferable sacrifices must be made as new gains and losses come to mind. With the Maneosioan War going on, which will determine either the
1. From the Mist

**Author's Note:** This is a novel-length fic where Harry and his friends are in their sixth year of Hogwarts. The main category is Action/Adventure, but there are also the Harry/Hermione, Ron/Luna, and Neville/Ginny ships that come in every now and then. The first chapter is centered generally on romance, but later it spreads from that to other issues and so it goes on. I'm rounding it to be at least 28 chapters in length when I'm through, but I've already written over half of the fic, so it's really not that far for me to go until the end. Please read and review!

Chapter 1

From the Mist

It was another hot summer day on Privet Drive; children were laughing outside while riding their bikes and playing new games, with not a care in the world. Who would have ever guessed that at that same exact moment, a teenage boy by the name of Harry Potter was laying in his bedroom on a beautiful day, full of concern and resentment, hidden away from the wizarding world that he missed so much, even though he had only been away from Hogwarts, his school, for no more than two weeks? It was the twelfth of July and he had already missed his best friends, Ron and Hermione, and the school at which he learned magic after spending the summer holidays with the Dursleys, his least favorite and only relatives.

For Harry Potter was a wizard - and a real one at that. Not the ones that muggles see on television doing fake magic tricks, but the kind of wizard who was brave, noble, and, at this very moment, the loneliest one in his year.

But right then, Harry wasn't thinking about the homework that he had to do over the holidays, or how much longer he had to wait until he came into the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. He wasn't even bothered with who was going to be the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain or who was going to fill in all those empty spots on the team, or what he had gotten on his O.W. L.'s. And, for one thing, he wasn't even thinking about Sirius, who's murder he had wanted more than anything in the world to get out of his mind. The only thing he was thinking about was -

Hermione. And all of the others that he had dragged into the Department of Mysteries last year that could have suffered the same fate as his godfather.

_"She nearly died,"_ he thought to himself, _"and I haven't even apologized to her or any of the others. All I was thinking about was myself and that stupid prophesy...It was all my fault. She warned me; she knew this would happen. And now what?"_ he thought. _"What if something did happen to her? I'd never forgive myself! I was such a fool to think that I could save Sirius. That I, Harry, could face Voldemort and all of his Death Eaters singlehandedly. If I had only left it alone, let Dumbledore handle it."_

But then he remembered, it was Dumbledore who had told him that it was not Harry's fault, but his own. Of course, Harry wasn't about to fall for that. It was his fault and he knew it. Nothing Dumbledore could have said changed anything, even when he told him about the prophesy . . .

Harry shuddered. He remembered the words spoken by Sibyll Trelawney so clearly, as if she was whispering them in his ear at this very moment, _"BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRISE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES .. ."_

_"But one day,"_ he reminded himself, _"one day I will have to face him, all on my own, one on one. I will either have to murder him or die trying. And I'm the only one who can...I must do it...one day"_

And he drifted of into a deep sleep from the heat of his bedroom.

"Harry, Harry, listen to me," he heard a voice call out from the mist. No, it wasn't a mist, it was behind the veil. The same black veil behind which Sirius fell and never returned.

"Harry," came Sirius's voice, "the mirror, Harry. Use the mirror. Tell her, she needs to know...You must decide. Tell her, she is the one that must know. Tell. Tell. TELL HER!!!"

Harry awoke with his glasses fogged-up in sweat. He was still fully dressed and could feel a chill running down his spine from the wetness of his tee-shirt.

Tell her? But who was her? thought Harry. Although he knew perfectly well who Sirius was talking about.

Harry rummaged through his trunk and found the mirror that Sirius had given him last Christmas and called out to his own reflection, "Show me Hermione Granger."

At first, nothing happened and Harry thought that the only way the mirror would work is if it was in Sirius's possession, but later he heard mumbling voices and the image of what appeared to he a slab of wood appeared to him. Then Harry realized the mirror was laying face down one of the tables in the Black Mansion. He then wondered if Hermione was there and decided to reach her. "HERMIONE! RON! ANYBODY! I'M HERE! PICK UP THE MIRROR! IT'S ME, HARRY! HELLO! IS ANYONE THERE?"

Suddenly, Harry saw another flash of light and the mirror was picked up by none other than Ginny Weasley, Ron's little sister.

"Harry?" she exclaimed in utter surprise. "What are you - what the - ?"

"Ginny!" said Harry. "Hi! Sorry, no time to explain. Is Hermione there?"

"Er - " she said, still mildly bewildered, "yeah, she - she's here. D-D'you want to talk to her?"

"Um, yeah," said Harry. "If-If she's there, that is." He didn't know why, but the thought of telling Hermione about the prophesy made him nervous. He began to feel sweat streaming down the back of his neck again.

"Okay," said Ginny, "hold on just a moment." Then she turned awkwardly and said, "Wait a minute? How do I know that you're the real Harry?"

Harry signed, impatiently, "Just go on, ask me anything."

"Alright," she said. "Er...what's Ron's owl's name?"

"Pigwidgeon," he answered.

"And who came up with that name?" she said in a teasing tone.

"You did," said Harry, getting rather bored.

"You pass, then," she grinned. "Hold on."

Harry heard a muffle of footsteps and then two people running up the stairs very hurriedly. One of them picked up the mirror again and Harry found himself face-to-face with Hermione. He was now feeling rather dumbstruck because he didn't really know what to say after she screamed and began speaking very quickly. "Harry! Oh, my goodness. It's so great to see you! Where did you get this mirror? Why do you need to talk to me? Did something bad happen? Are you alright? Do you need any help? Oh, Harry, what is it? I'll do anything, just say the word."

Harry's grin fell immediately. He now remembered how Hermione had told him that she would do anything to save Sirius with him if he was sure that Voldemort had been torturing him. How very wrong and stupid Harry felt now. But that is exactly why she had to know...

"Er," spoke Harry, "hi, Hermione! It's very nice to see you too. And I got this mirror and the one that you're holding from Sirius." Hermione's expression sunk and Harry could tell that she felt a bit embarrassed for making him remember Sirius. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'm over it, honestly," said Harry, and she suddenly looked the happiest since the time that she read the article saying that Harry's name had been finally cleared from coming up with the silly story that Voldemort had regained power, because it was true; Fudge, the Minister of Magic, saw him right within the Ministry itself.

"Listen," he continued, "are you alone?"

"Er," she turned to Ginny, who Harry saw rolled her eyes and left the room, shutting the door behind her, which Harry noticed was the same room that he had slept in when he last stayed at the Black Mansion.

"What about Ron? Is he there?" asked Harry.

"Oh, no. He's at Diagon Alley with Fred and George. He agreed to help them with some things at their joke shop," explained Hermione. "So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

Harry still didn't feel confident to tell her. Not here, he thought, not now. Maybe, he thought, it'd be better if I spoke to her in person. Then, an idea popped itself into Harry's mind.

"Hermione, it's only a matter of time before I see you again at the Order of the Phoenix and I need to tell you something very important. So, make sure that you can arrange a room for us so that we cannot be overheard or over looked. Okay? It's very important and you just have to know. I'm afraid you're life may be at stake - " Hermione gasped - " and not just yours...all because of me."

"Harry, what are you talking about?"

"Look, I can't tell you now. The thing is, I don't exactly know how safe this mirror is. So, will you agree not to tell anyone and do this for me?"

"Oh, of course, Harry, but what about Ron - ?"

"Absolutely not! Especially he can't know. Nobody! Do you hear me?"

"Yes, yes. I understand Harry. I'll study how to make that charm that they used on the meetings of the Order of the Phoenix. Although, I dare say, it will be quite the challenge. But I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out!" she said with a wide grin.

"Excellent! Well, I hope to see you soon, then."

"And, er, Harry," said Hermione going rather pink, "I'll try to arrange it so that Moody and the others can pick you up as soon as possible."

"Right, thanks. Well, I'd better go."

"Okay," said Hermione, rather depressed that they had such a short conversation. "Bye," she said, and put down the mirror.

Harry did the same and signed, "Well, I'm glad I got that off my chest."

But it was not far enough off his chest yet and Harry knew it because, sooner or later, he knew that he would have to face Hermione once again and tell her the real truth about the Boy Who Lived....

"Potter! Get down here this instant," Harry heard the booming voice of Uncle Vernon call from downstairs.

Harry had woken up and, as he looked out the window, he could tell that it was early morning.

"I'm ," he roared.

Harry got dressed and made his way downstairs, which he regretted very much once he saw the loathing look that Uncle Vernon gave him.

"Tell me, who is this person, or rather people, stalking us at our very home!" he screamed and pointed at the front door. Harry slowly moved towards it and saw Ron staring back at him.

"Ron!" said Harry, quite shocked. "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything, but what the devil are you doing here? I knew Hermione told me you'd pick me up soon, but isn't this a bit overdoing it?"

"Nice to see you too," said Ron sarcastically. "So, are you ready? Everyone's waiting in the car." Ron pointed to a crowd of Weasleys frantically waving at him from none other than -

"The Ford Anglia! No way! How did you get that back?" said Harry, astounded.

"Dumbledore," said Ron, simply. "He found it out in the Forbidden Forest while he was searching for some slightly _unusual_ things and decided to send it back to us, fully fixed and everything! Dad's not allowed to fly it anymore though; he was forced to remove the charm. Shame, we could have really used it for a bit of fun, eh?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "Well, d'you want to help me get my things?"

"Sure," said Ron, "that's exactly what I'm here for."

Uncle Vernon gave Ron a slightly detesting look, which Ron returned and Harry laughed at.

Harry gathered up his belongings quickly, along with his treasured Firebolt, the mirror, Hedwig, and his trunk, and the both of them made their way downstairs and towards the car where Harry was greeted by an overwhelming amount of people.

"Harry! Our old business partner. You can't possibly imagine how well our joke shop is doing. All thanks to you, of course," said Fred in a hushed voice so that Mrs. Weasly wouldn't overhear. Harry noticed that they were, indeed, dressed in the finest cloaks and seem to have done the family the same bit of profit because Ginny was wearing a new dress and the rest of the Weasleys were no longer clothed in their old cloaks. Even Mrs. Weasley seemed to be wearing a new pair of diamond earnings which changed color in the sun.

"Couldn't have done it without you, mate," added George. "Great to see you again!"

"Hullo, Harry!" said Ginny. "I know you're glad your summer with the Dursleys has been this short, aren't you?" Harry grinned and nodded.

"Oh, Harry. It is good that we get to see you so soon, dear, isn't it?"said Mrs. Weasley, grinning merrily.

Both Bill and Charley clapped Harry on the back and said, "Hey, Harry. Nice to see you again."

But the one Weasley that Harry couldn't believe was smiling back at him as he reached the end of the line was Percy.

Harry felt quite awkward. After all, it was Percy who had betrayed the Weasley that same year and told Ron not to hang out with Harry anymore.

"Er," said Percy, "listen, Harry. I'm really sorry about being so stupid and all. I should have guessed that you and Dumbledore were both telling the truth. I guess I just let my head get a little too big -" Fred and George giggled; Percy threw them a stern look - "So, I really hope that you'd only be so kind as to forgive my foolishness."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. Percy, perfect prefect Percy, was admitting to him that he had been foolish and was actually asking Harry for forgiveness!

After a few seconds, Harry replied to an earnest Percy, "Of course I'll forgive you. After all, I never really gave you any explanation, did I?"

Percy beamed, "Why thank you, Harry, I' m honored."

Harry noticed that the Order of the Phoenix wasn't there to accompany him anymore and he asked, "Er, what about the members of the You-Know-What?"

"Oh," said Mr. Weasley, who had just emerged out of the car and smiled at Harry, pointing up. Harry looked above his head and saw the members circling the car on broomsticks like muggle helicopters. "Couldn't stay away, now, could they?" he said.

"Won't the muggles see them, though?"

"No, I'm afraid not. You see, Moody has learned a new trick that he desired to show off to all of us. It's called the Eye-of-the-Muggle. You see, you simply mutter the magic words and the muggles cannot see the witch or wizard that may be standing right in front of them."

"Awesome," said Harry.

"Yes, it certainly is. Now, Harry, if you don't mind, we best be on our way. Don't want to linger for too long or the muggles might find it suspicious" he said.

"Right," Harry said and he climbed into the Ford Anglia, followed by Ron and the others.

Yet Harry felt as if there was someone missing, as if a part of his was still not in the car.

"Ron," he asked, "where's Hermione? Didn't she want to come and see me as well?" He sounded a bit hurt.

"Oh, she did and she told me to tell you that she was truly sorry, but she had to deal with something important. Dunno. Probably doing homework already."

But Harry quickly realized what she must have been doing - she was looking for the spell to silent the room in which Harry was going to tell her -

He gulped. Why couldn't Hermione just look for it when he got there? She didn't have to know it at the exact moment that they met. The though slipped his mind, however, as Ron began to tell Harry the fascinating story of Percy's apology to his parents and the rest of his family. Percy didn't seem too entertained by it and tried to quickly change the subject. "Harry, by the way," he said, "you'll never guess who's joined the Order of the Phoenix!"

"Oh, yeah," said Ginny and giggled as she glanced at Bill who suddenly became interested in the muggle buildings that could be seen through the car window.

"It's - " began Percy, but was interrupted by the harsh landing of the Ford Anglia at Number Twelve, Grimauld Place. Harry's insides lurched. He knew very well that everything inside the place would remind him of Sirius. Luckily, it was the house of Dark wizards, so there weren't many portraits of Sirius hanging there. Still, there was Buckbeak, who helped Sirius escape the dementors in Harry's third year and Kreacher, the house elf that had betrayed Sirius and got his own master murdered....

But Harry tried hard not to think about it right at the moment and got out of the car, anxious to get some breakfast and find out if Hermione had found the spell.

Harry went with the others, who got his things, and Mr. Weasley said, "Number 12, Grimmauld Place," to an empty alley between Numbers 11 and 13 where an entire mansion suddenly appeared towards which Harry stepped forward and walked inside.

"Quiet, Harry, dear," Mrs. Weasley prompted him. "Remember, Sirius's mother."

Harry made his way silently down the creepy corridor with the decapitated heads of the old house elves and into the kitchen where he dropped his things and waited for the others to join him. Hermione, however, was nowhere in sight. She must still be looking for that spell, thought Harry.

The Weasley all made their way into the kitchen and were followed by the members of the Order who all greeted Harry as invitingly as if he was their own flesh and blood. To Harry's surprise, Tonks had made her pink hair floor length, which he didn't see the point of considering the fact that she constantly kept tripping over it.

However, he soon found out that she had merely been trying to outgrow another girl's hair who ran towards Harry and slowed down on her tip-toes before she rushed into him, and it was none other than Fleur Delacour!

"Oh, arry!" she gave him a kiss on each cheek and Harry felt himself go red. "It is marvelous to see you again!"

"Hi, Fleur. What are you - how did you - ?"

"'arry! I'm surprised at you. I would think zat you would be 'appy to see me."

"No, I am. It's just that this is the Order of the Phoenix, and well-"

"Oh, I am working for zee Order now, 'arry. Asn't anyone told you yet? Ah, well it is a long story."

Harry could hear someone approaching and joining the rest of them behind Fleur's silvery blonde hair, but he wasn't paying attention; he couldn't if he tried. Fleur's glow was so illuminating and her hair so shiny that it was impossible to see anything but her, even if Harry desperately tried.

"Well, since I am working for zee Order now, we will be able to spend a lot more time togezer. Isn't zat wonderful 'arry?"

"Ahem," a girl had cleared her throat very loudly behind Fleur, and Harry had suddenly turned to focus on who she was, though he couldn't figure it out.

She had sleek brown hair that laid very nicely on her strait figure and looked like the type of hair that Harry noticed Aunt Petunia arguing was no point in having if you didn't want to spend a fortune on a hairstyle. Her eyes were deep blue and unlike anything Harry had ever seen before. She was wearing an orange dress that fell down to her knees and met up with a bright yellow hem. Over the dress, she had sky-blue robes that were attached at the center with a gorgeous blue pin that resembled an oval gem. A red heart necklace hung on her neck.

Just then, Harry was taken aback as Fleur said, "Oh, don't worry. I am engaged, you know."

The girl's eyes widened and she went extremely pale. She suddenly regained her blood to a point when she was crimson red and Harry finally recognized her to be no other than his best friend, Hermione. He felt his jaw drop.

Hermione looked so much more feminine that it was scary. Her eyebrows had thinned, she was wearing a very thin and natural layer of make up, and she even had gained about an inch from the very elegant shoes that sat gracefully on her feet.

"Er, hi," was the only idiotic thing that Harry could possibly think to say to her because, even though Fleur, who was part Veela, was standing right in front of Harry, he couldn't take his eyes of Hermione. So this is what she has been doing, he thought to himself. Ron seemed to be just as surprised, only one of his eyebrows was raised and he looked slightly disapprovingly at Hermione.

She smiled back at Harry and quickly looked away because everyone seemed to be staring at her now.

"Well, Harry. Best get your things upstairs, eh?" said Mr. Weasley, "Ron and, er, Hermione can help you with that of course." He gave Hermione an odd and disbelieving look.

Hermione, eager to get away from all of the people staring, all except for Fleur, who seemed to be simply beaming at the sight of Hermione, was the first to leave the kitchen and lead the way.

As they made their was upstairs, Harry was speechless. He didn't know what to say to Hermione, but he knew it would be rude not to complement her on such a change so he said, "Er, Hermione you look - you're - "

"Different," helped Ron.

"Well, not that there was anything wrong with you before," said Harry to a blushing Hermione, "but you look somewhat more elegant and, well, you're hair's strait and stuff."

"See, since Fleur came buy I kind of thought that I was getting tired of my hair being all over the place, so she bought me this special potion that permanently straightens your hair - "

"But I never minded your hair before," said Harry.

Hermione's face turned even more brick-red, but she continued, " - and my eyes were getting a bit dull - "

"That's not true!" shouted Harry.

"Calm down mate," said Ron, "you'll wake the mother of horror," who referred to Sirius's mom.

"Sorry," said Harry, "but what about Fleur? How did she - ?"

"She's engaged to Bill, you know," said Hermione.

"Oh, no, Hermione. Not Bill. It's dear Villiam," said Ron, mimicking Fleur's accent.

"Do you mean to tell me that Fleur is going to be a Weasley?"

"Yep," said Ron and, right before Harry had the chance to open his mouth, he said, "and Bill was convinced that she really wanted to spend a lot of time with him and work for the Order and stuff, so Dumbledore let her join."

Harry was shocked. "But how does he know- I mean, not that Fleur is a bad person, we just don't know that much about her - how do we know her parents aren't in touch with Voldemort or anything?"

"Because Snape tested her with Veritaserum, even though Dumbledore seemed to think that her word was enough. So they allowed her in," said Hermione.

"But how do they know that she just won't run off to Voldemort and, well, spill everything about the Order?"

"Harry, do you honestly think that Dumbledore is going to let anyone join the Order without special charms cast upon them? Otherwise, anyone could just run over to Voldemort and tell him everything, no matter how much we might trust them."

Harry had completely forgotten that Hermione had started saying Voldemort's full name last year and now remembered how much he had appreciated her for that.

They finally reached the top of the stairs and it seemed that both Harry and Hermione had remembered something important - their secret meeting. How in the world were they supposed to ditch Ron? thought Harry. But it was Hermione who handled it, and very nicely indeed.

"Listen, Ron. Harry and I can take care of things from here on. Why don't you go and have breakfast already? I ate and, well, I'll come down with Harry soon enough."

Ron hesitated, firstly, but then heard his stomach growl and said, "Okay, then. I'll meet you two downstairs. Hurry up, though. We've got a lot of people there. Wouldn't want them to run out of food, now, would you?" and he ran off, leaving Harry and Hermione alone.

Harry felt awkward. He still didn't feel right about telling Hermione, but he knew that it had to be done.

"Er," he said, "so, I suppose you've worked out that charm?"

"Oh, yes," said Hermione. "It was a bit difficult at first, but I got the hang of it eventually."

"Okay then, er, where to?"

"Well, I was thinking we could go into the room with Buckbeak. I mean, he can't overhear us and he was just fed this morning, so I don't see any reason for someone to go bursting in there."

"Alright," said Harry and they made their way through the mansion to a room containing the hippogriff, which was far less pleasant than Harry hoped it would be, but at least no one was about to hear what he was going to tell Hermione.

"Imperturbio," said Hermione and, immediately, the door behind her had shut itself and so had the only window that the room contained. The floor boarder jammed themself up tightly and Harry was slightly worried that someone would notice the bangs that they had made as they closed themselves.

However, there was no shouting Mrs. Weasley or Mrs. Black, so Harry let out a relieved sigh.

At that moment, Hermione turned to him and was watching him closely, he beautiful head tilted to one side.

Harry took a deep breath. This was it, he told himself.

"Hermione," he said, "there's something that I've been meaning to tell you."

"Yeah, I know," she said in a quiet and voice and Harry noticed that her cheeks were a bit flushed.

"Well," began Harry rather nervously, "the thing is that this is very serious, Hermione."

"Oh," she said, "well, go on then."

"Hermione, do you remember that prophesy last year? The one that Neville dropped and was lost forever?"

"Er, yes. But what does this have to do with anything, Harry?"

Harry could obviously tell that this wasn't exactly what she was expecting.

"Absolutely everything," he said.

She looked at him with a mixture of misunderstanding and concern.

"The thing is that the prophesy that was destroyed was told by none other than Sibyl Trelawney, our Divination teacher, to Albus Dumbledore."

"Harry, how could you possibly - ?"

"And it was about Voldemort...and me," he breathed.

Hermione looked extremely puzzled.

"It was told before I was even born and the night that we returned to school from the Department of Mysteries, Dumbledore invited me into his office. And since, you know, he witnessed it, he was able to draw the prophesy out of his Pensive."

Harry could see an anxious and frightened look on Hermione's face.

"It said - " he continued, " - It said that the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. It said that he is born to those who have thrise defied him as the seventh month dies. He will mark him as his equal, but he will have power unknown to the Dark Lord," Harry stopped as he saw Hermione losing breath. "And one of us must die at the hand of the other because the both of us cannot live at the same time," he finished.

Hermione looked as if she had just been Petrified again. She seemed lost for words but then spoke in a minuscule voice, "But, Harry," he could hear the tears edging to escape from her throat, "how can you be sure that she was talking about - " she gulped - "you?"

"Because," said Harry and lifted his hair back so that Hermione could see his scar clearly, "the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal."

At first, he though that Hermione was going to faint, but then she took him by surprise as she threw herself onto him and said, "Oh, Harry. No, she wasn't talking about you. It's not true! I won't let it be true! Do you hear me Harry, I won't let it be true?!" she screamed as he saw tears running down her face, but he knew that no matter what Hermione could possibly do, the truth would always stay the same.

Harry was holding onto her very tightly, but then she slightly drew her head back and was now face-to-face with Harry. Although, Harry didn't understand why she hadn't run and never wanted to see him again. And then something magical happened, as Harry looked into Hermione's shining blue eyes, they moved closed and closed together until, finally, their lips touched and Harry never wanted it to end; it was the most sensational feeling. And it was not like when he had kissed Cho, because he could feel Hermione's love and passion for him, there, in Buckbeak's room.

However, she suddenly drew away and Harry could see a look or regret on her face. "Oh, Harry," she said, "I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I better go."

Just then, Harry realized that what Hermione wanted to hear wasn't about the prophesy or his destiny. What she wanted to hear was the exact reason for why she had gotten dressed up and made sure to look beautiful when Harry first saw her. And that was exactly what she was going to hear because that was exactly how Harry felt.

As she approached the door, Harry ran after her and grabbed her wrist.

"Wait, Hermione."

She stopped, but still had not looked up at him. "Listen, the reason why I wanted you to know this is because I didn't want you to get hurt. I didn't want to lose you like I lost Sirius. Because, that day, at the Department of Mysteries, when you were hit with that spell and I thought that you were - well, dead - I realized how much I cared about you. Hermione I l-"

But Harry never got the chance to finish telling Hermione what he "l-"d because, at that moment, he could hear Ron's voice coming from the hallway calling for them, "HARRY? HERMIONE? WHERE D'YOU TWO GO?"

"We better get going," she said.

But Harry wasn't finished, so he said one of the shortest and most meaningful sentences of his life, "Hermione, I love you."

It seemed that those words were exactly what she wanted to hear because she suddenly looked up at him with the most hopeful face in the world and said, "Harry, you have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that."

"What?" said Harry.

"It seems...that I've loved you since forever."

"Y-you did?" said Harry.

Hermione nodded her head with a mixture of a smile and eyes full of tears.

"You don't mind that I might - that you might -?"

"Harry, if I was told to die for you tomorrow, you know that I would. Considering the countless times that you nearly died for me and the way that I really feel about you."

Harry felt better. It was as if he was suddenly no longer a victim or a future murderer. It was as if, for one of the few times in his life, he felt normal, and just the same as everybody else. So, I'm not a marked man, he told himself. I'm just really lucky...

Hermione came up to him and gave him another kiss, and a much more confident one at that. She held his hand and said, "Let's go, we need to tell the others - "

"Wait!" said Harry as he pulled her back and returned her kiss. "First of all, I don't want anyone else to know about the prophesy. Not yet. And second, I think that we should keep our relationship a secret."

"But, why?" said Hermione, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Because," replied Harry, "if Voldemort ever somehow finds out that you are someone that I love deeply, then you will be put into a lot of danger, and that is the last thing that I want right now."

"Alright," said Hermione, and let go of his hand, which he very much regretted.

Hermione undid the spell by shouting, "Fortis!" and they walked out, eager to find out what had happened in the past half-hour.

**Author's Note:** Well, there it is. The first chapter. This story is also up on as well as , but I love to hear lots of opinions so go ahead and review. More chapters should be up relatively soon. -- Meg


	2. Relatives

Chapter 2

Relatives

"Hey, Harry," said Ron. "Where've you two been? I've turned the entire mansion inside out trying to find you!"

"Oh, er, sorry Ron. We, er -"

"Got lost," said Hermione.

"Lost? In this place?" Ron shuddered. "That has to be about the worst thing that could possibly happen to you."

"No, it - it really wasn't all that bad," said Harry, grinning at Hermione vaguely.

Ron stared at them, looking from one to the other, puzzled. "Well," he finally said, "you'll never guess who I got a letter from!"

"Who?" said Harry and Hermione.

"None other than," Ron lowered his voice so that Fred and George wouldn't overhear, "Loony Lovegood."

"You're kidding," said Hermione, gigging.

Harry, however, didn't look too pleased.

"Don't call her that," he said as Hermione gave him an oddly furious look. "You know, she isn't all that bad, Ron. I just kind of feel sorry for her cause, well, she told me people take her stuff and call her that behind her back. It's just, she seems simply misunderstood."

"Well, Harry. You better hope that's all she is to you," said Hermione in a low whisper so that only he could hear her.

"Oh, come on, Hermione. You don't honestly think I actually -" But Hermione smiled at him. "Of course I don't, Harry. It was just a joke," said Hermione who seemed to find Luna a funny competition.

"Well, Luna wrote to me and said that she was hoping that I was having a good vacation and asking if I could meet her down at Diagon Alley on the first of August," said Ron in a disgusted tone.

"Go, Ron!" giggled Hermione, this time even harder.

"This isn't funny!" he said. "And besides, I'm not going! If I'm seen with her in public, I'll be the laughing stock of the entire school!"

"So, go somewhere private," suggested Hermione.

"Are you kidding me? Do you honestly think that I like her or something?"

"Well, she definitely seems to like you so why not give it a go? We'll all go and get our things on the same day so that you don't feel lonely if you want," she teased.

"No!" shouted Ron. "Because I'm not going and that's final!"

He stormed off, but Harry could still see Ron clutching Luna's letter in his hand and eventually pocketing it as he left the room.

"What's got him so worked up?" asked Ginny.

"Oh, nothing," said Harry as Hermione was nearly about to spill his secret.

"Say, what ever happed to that git, Kreacher?" asked Harry.

"Oh," said Ginny, "he's still around but no longer at the Order of Phoenix headquarters. See, as soon as, well, his last remaining master, you know, well - Dumbledore decided to keep him at Hogwarts so that he wouldn't remind you and the rest of us of, well - " she broke off, but Harry knew exactly what she was talking about.

However, before Harry could tell her that he understood who she had meant, they were interrupted as, suddenly, Percy's breakfast plate burst with a loud BOOM and left pieces of scrambled egg all over his face, leaving Fred and George fit with uncontrollable laughter and Mrs. Weasley with rage at the twins.

"I THOUGHT A PROMISE WAS A PROMISE! YOU SAID NO MORE TESTING OF YOUR SILLY PRODUCTS! "

"Strange," said George, "I thought those silly products made us all fortunes."

"SILENCE!....ESPECIALLY ON FAMILY!" roared Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh, so we can try in out on, say, Harry?" asked Fred in an innocent tone.

"NO!" cried Mrs. Weasley, who was too furious to continue yelling at them and appeared to be having a migraine as she patiently rubbed her temples while muttering something to herself as she stormed out of the room.

Eventually, everyone had cleared out after breakfast and seemed to be busy with their own troubles: the Order was working secretly, head-to-head, on new information that they seemed to be discussing behind Harry's back, Fred and George had to find an alternate for their product tester, Ron had promised Mrs. Weasley to carry some heavy loads from the basement, "But why can't Fred and George do it? They can use magic!," and Ginny had run off to give Melificent her bath, whom Harry had never heard of (while finding it odd that she would need someone to give her a bath) and was wondering if he could meet when Hermione, checking to see that they were well out of sight, suddenly took his hand and whispered, "Harry, how about we go for a walk around this place?"

"Alright," said Harry. They both grabbed the last bit of toast, which reminded Harry uncannily of the time that they had gone for a walk around the lake at Hogwarts, and left the dinning room.

They reached the second floor corridor without saying a word when Hermione said, "You know, I have always wanted to walk around this mansion. I doubt that it is ever possible to know all of its corners, though."

This wasn't the conversation that Harry had in mind and so he said, "Say, Hermione. Er...has anything been, er, going on between you and Ron lately?"

"What'd you mean?" she asked in a rather bored, matter-of-fact voice.

"I mean, has he, er, askedyouout?" said Harry.

Hermione looked bemused, "Say that again, Harry. I didn't quite get that."

"Has he, you know, asked you out?" Harry breathed.

Hermione chocked on the bit of toast that she had finished nibbling.

"Harry, you're not serious about that, are you?" she looked stricken.

"Actually, I am. I mean it," he said, still looking at her frightened face. "Well? Has he?"

Hermione looked as if she didn't know what to say and, finally, she managed to spit something out. "Harry," she said in a rather shaky voice, "I think that it's time that you know something about me and - and Ron."

She was avoiding Harry's eyes, but he still noticed that she doubted telling him whatever it was.

"If you must," he said.

"Well, you see Harry, it's like this - " she began rather scared " - I..I probably shouldn't be telling you this - scratch that, I know I shouldn't be telling you this, but, well, since you told me about that prophesy..."

She continued, "You see, Ron and I are - are - "

"What is it, Hermione?"

"We're related."

"WHAT!" yelled Harry.

"Shhh!" said Hermione. "Mrs. Weasley and the others will have my throat if they find out I told you!"

"But why? How?" Harry was so confused. Everything that he once knew seemed do be swirling in a massive disarray.

"Well, the thing is that I'm Ron's, and Ginny's, and Fred and George's (Hermione shuddered), and so on, cousin."

"But - but - b-but," said Harry.

"I know, and I'm really sorry, Harry, but I just couldn't tell you," she said. "Mrs. Weasley is my aunt. She, er, is my mother's sister; her maiden name is Prewett, and she is, er, a Squib."

Harry was still transfixed in the thought, but then awoke from the moment to ask, "But Hermione, I mean, why didn't you just tell me? And how long have you known?"

"Harry, the reason why I couldn't tell you was because of you. You and your family. Because the only family that you had was those awful Muggles that you lived with and, here I am with Ron, in this huge wizarding family - " she paused, watching his sulked face. "But the only reason that we kept it a secret from you was because we didn't want to hurt you, Harry. We didn't want you to feel left out. And besides, wouldn't you feel awkward if you knew that your two best friends were cousins?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"See! And, we've known ever since second year," she said. "Once Ron's parents met my mother at Diagon Alley the day we were getting our books, they just had to tell him that I was related to him, otherwise it would have caused a lot of peculiar moments. And - they obviously told me, but they hesitated telling you because they just weren't sure that you were ready for something like that, Harry," she said desperately.

Harry felt like such a fool. Of course, he told himself, that's why Ron keeps jumping on Malfoy for calling her a Mudbood and why he didn't like the idea of her being fond of Lockhart and -

"Wait a minute," he said, "but why was he so jealous when you went to the ball with Krum?"

"Jealous? Is that what you though he was? No - " Hermione laughed, "He's just a bit overprotective. You know how he was when he found out that Ginny was dating Michael. That's just how he is. Ron's like a brother to me."

"But, what about when you said that he should have asked you to the ball first?"

"Oh, I was being sarcastic, Harry. I knew that it would have been too overprotective of him to take me to the ball himself so I made that snide remark to show him how ridiculous I thought he was being about the whole Krum thing."

"And - and what about when you kissed him on the cheek last year, eh?"

"That was just because I really wanted to wish him luck, and you know that he needed it back then. Besides, the only reason he reacted like that is because it is kind of weird if your cousin just kisses you on the cheek out of the blue. Especially one that you constantly argue with and one that is a girl."

Hermione shook her head and smirked. "What is it?" he asked.

"Oh, no - I just remembered when we were practicing Patronuses in the Room of Requirements and I found out mine was an otter. I thought - surely you would have realized that an otter is a member of the weasel family. I mean...nothing...never mind. Just a thought..."

"Hermione, you know I'm not good at these sorts of interpretations."

"Yeah, I know. And, er, what about you and Cho, then?"

Harry snorted, "You don't really think there is anything going on between us anymore, do you?" Hermione raised both of her eyebrows. "We definitely broke up when I had an argument with her over her friend Marietta when for ratting us out and then brought it home when I said how brilliant your idea of the 'sneak' charm had been," he grinned.

She blushed and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Oh, a kiss on the cheek? Is that all you've got, Hermione?" Harry teased.

But just as she leaned over to kiss him, Harry took a step down from the corridor on a descending latter and slipped on what seemed to be a very fuzzy snake. There was a loud screech and even louder scream from Hermione as she saw Harry tumble down the stairs and land in a loud THUMP. Harry could feel his entire body going numb and a small live object jumping on top of him and eventually running off in another direction, being picked up by a glowing girl.

"Melificent!" she said.

"HARRY! Oh, are you all right?" yelled Hermione as she made her way carefully down the stairs and then bended down to be by Harry's side.

"Yeah," he heard himself say. After all, he had gotten much worse injuries at Hogwarts and, certainly, a trip down the stairs was nothing of a big deal.

"arry! I am so sorry! I was wondering were Melificent had gone after her bath."

Harry looked up as he was now standing up firmly on both feet, with the aid of Hermione, and noticed that Melificent was, in fact, not a person, but a cat; Fleur's cat. And, as a matter of fact, it had a remarkable resemblance to her. The cat had rich beige fur, white paws, illuminating sky blue eyes, a grey tail, and black face and ears. Harry never even imagined seeing a more beautiful cat. Surely, Crookshanks was in no league against her.

The cat gave Harry a very superior look as it prompted its nose high up in the air while held tightly by Fleur, who was now gently petting her behind the ears.

"Poor, poor, Melificent. Are you urting? Zhere...zhere...it will be alright."

Harry gave Hermione a disgusted look, who shrugged, and began to walk him towards the nearest bedroom when he said, "No, I'm fine, really." She looked at him rather suspiciously, but was convinced as she witnessed him walk all on his own, only slightly limping.

"If you're sure - " she said.

"THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT," yelled Ron as he, too, came limping from a corridor nearby. "D'you know what just happened? I just dropped and enormous crate full of old garbage on my foot and you know what Fred and George did about it?"

"What?" said Hermione.

"They added another hundred pounds to it before I could pick it up!"

Hermione was trying to keep a straight face while Ron said, "Really! One of these days I'll - what happened to you?" Ron had noticed Harry limping as well.

"Melificent," said Harry.

"Oh," said Ron, as if he understood. "Well, whatever she did to you, it could not have been that bad....there's a cat that seems to know its manners," said Ron as Hermione frowned.

Harry and Hermione exchanged odd glances. Harry was wondering if he should bring up the fact that he knows about them being related now, but just as he opened his mouth, Hermione said, "So, have you thought about that trip to Diagon Alley, Ron?"

Ron turned red. "No! Why would I?"

"Well, it's just that - "

"Look, can we just forget about this?" said Harry who wanted the last thing to happen was to hear them arguing.

Hermione seemed to think that there was a bit more behind Harry's reason and eyed him, so he said, "Just don't start arguing, okay, you two?"

"Right," said Ron.

"Ron, I'm sorry," said Hermione, "but there's nothing wrong with wanting to get to know Luna. I'm sure she's a wonderful person," finishing with most difficulty.

"I don't want to know her, okay," said Ron. "Just leave me alone," and walked off quite depressed.

"Good job, Hermione," said Harry.

"Well, I was only trying to help."

"No, I mean, at least now we can be alone," grinned Harry.

Hermione leaned over and kissed him, but quickly drew away as she heard a shuffle of footsteps and approaching voices.

"I don't think that he would dare try it, do you, Moody?"

"I don't know, Remus. You-Know-Who's been meant to do some pretty twisted things."

"But he wouldn't - "

"Shush!" The footsteps slowed down and Harry and Hermione came to discover Mad-Eye Moody, Remus Lupin, and Mr. Weasley in the hall.

"Oh, it's you two. What are you doing around in the hall all by yourselves, and at this time?"

"Just walking, sir," said Hermione, meekly.

"Hmmm, yes," said Moody. "Right, well, you best be off - why not find that boy, Ronald, and do something useful around this dump? Go on," he said.

Harry and Hermione made their way past him, shyly, and escaped to the west side of the house, searching for Ron or anyone else.

"I think we'd better limit our sneaking off," said Hermione. "If they keep catching us like that, they might eventually find out. S not a very good thing, is it? Them finding out without us telling them?"

"No, it isn't,"said Harry.

"What isn't?" said Charley as he, Percy, and Bill emerged out of a trap door that seemed to lead to the basement.

"Nothing," said Hermione automatically. Percy scowled.

"What were you three doing down there, anyways?" Asked Harry.

"There seems to be an uncontrollable army of Mold Sprites down in the basement and mum wanted us to clear them out. I know we're not supposed to be telling you this, but the Order thought that the basement is an even better hiding place for the members in case headquarters are discovered; it's supposed to have a strange charm on it that confuses an untrustworthy person as soon as they walk in there. They'll actually get lost inside their own mind. Kind of a Dementor's Kiss, mind you, only not as fatal. The condition can only be deceased if the person walks out of the room. But, fortunately, they will be so confused that they won't know which way's up. They'll kill themselves beforehand, too much of a torture. Seems to be such an advanced charm, not even Dumbledore has heard about it. Ow!" Percy had hit Charley hard across the back of his head with his hand. "What d'you do that for?"

"More importantly," said Percy, extremely angrily, "why did you tell them?"

"Oh, like they can't be trusted! Honestly!"

Percy stormed of, apparently mad at his brother for let information about the Order slip and Bill for not stopping him.

"But - isn't that kind of dangerous?" said Hermione. "I mean, if Dumbledore doesn't know about the charm, then it may be full of Dark Magic. How do we know that basement can be trusted?"

"Relax, Hermione," said Bill, "it's not like he hasn't inspected it himself. Even if he is busy running around, answering stupid questions that the Ministry is still asking about You- Know-Who's return to power, he's always had time for the Order. Besides, we're still in our right minds. Aren't we?"

Hermione didn't seem convinced, but said, "I'm not so sure I'd like to answer that."

Bill laughed and followed Percy, accompanied by Charley.

"You know, I just realized something," said Harry.

"What?" asked Hermione.

"This is going to be the first birthday that I get to spend away from the Dursleys, entirely."

"Then I'm sure it will be wonderful..." said Hermione and leaned on Harry who put his arm around her.

"Yeah...Yeah...it will," said Harry who looked down the steps of the basement and wondered if there would ever come a time for them to find sanctuary in its mysterious likeliness of what seemed to be Harry's least favorite form of protection - being guarded by dementors.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!!!" screamed Hermione as she gave him a huge kiss that prevented him breathing since he had just woken up, startled at the thought that his birthday had come so quickly this year.

"Hermione!" said Harry as she drew away and watched an enormous package appear on his bed, wrapped in gold paper and tided with a handsome red bow.

"Oh, that's not from me," she said and drew out a package the size of a large matchbox and handed it to him, "this is."

Harry hesitated, and slowly opened the package, wondering what Hermione could have possibly gotten him that seemed the be the size of a walnut. In the box, an illuminating green glow mesmerized Harry as he watched a medium-sized gem glistening at him from the heart of a handsome golden ring.

"It's, er, a promise ring," said Hermione, blushing.

"Hermione, I...I don't know what to say!" said Harry, transfixed by the illumination of the ring. "Except I promise you that this is probably the best gift I've ever gotten."

Hermione giggled, "No, silly. A promise ring doesn't mean that you'll promise someone that you like it. It means that you'll promise someone that you'll stay with him forever."

"Well, then I should probably get you one too, then," said Harry.

"You don't have to do that!" said Hermione. "Your word is enough."

"Well, then my word is....is...." Harry teased as Hermione awaited anxiously, "that I want to know what's inside that package," Harry pointed at the huge box planted on his bed.

"Harry!" said Hermione.

"I'm sorry...sorry. But I'll only promise you if you tell me how you really feel about me."

"Harry, you know, the way that I really feel about you right now is that you're being an awfully selfish jerk! And I still love you," she added.

"Alright," said Harry, "and the way that I feel about you is that I...I...I just need you to help me open that present right now."

Hermione made a loud tutting sound and said, "Harry, you're impossible!" leaving the room. Harry laughed. He knew that she realized that he was only joking, but it was fun to tease her while he had the opportunity.

"Now for this present," said Harry, as he turned to the large package, placing the ring on his finger, which felt very warm and comfortable.

He looked for a card and found a small one, dangling from its side. Harry's stomach must have flipped several times as it read, "To Harry, From Sirius."

How? Thought Harry. It was unimaginable.

Harry tore open the paper and found a card sitting on top of a cardboard box. Harry read it:

_Harry,_

_I know that things must be very though for you right now, but just remember that I'm not as gone as you may think. First, I would like to wish you a Happy Birthday, Harry, but I'm afraid that I might lay a burden on you along with this wish. It might be hard for you to come back to the Department of Mysteries after what happened last year, but I think that it will be the best thing that you could do right about now. The Order will take you there, and you will not be alone, but you must face me, once again, in a state that I know you don't find very favorable, but I'm afraid, it is better off this way. Voldermort is back, Harry, and it's no laughing matter. You must arm yourself. You are now sixteen years old, on your way to adulthood and almost of age to do magic outside of school. Harry, take these possessions. I am not fond of them, neither am I of the people from whom I received them from, but I have found them quite useful when I last worked for the Order, while your parents were still alive. And one more thing, Harry. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of love, of pain, of death. Fear puts a stopper in all of us, but I want you to be an exception. Hear me Harry, and bring the mirror that I gave you for Christmas; yours and mine._

_Once again, Happy Birthday,_

_Sirius_

Harry wasn't sure how he felt after he had read this. It seemed as if he felt nothing at all. But suddenly, a jolt lighted inside of him. Was he going to be able to see Sirius again, or at least, speak to him? He remembered Luna's words "you heard them, behind the veil." Was it true? Could they really be heard? Could they be spoken to?

Just then, the doors of his bedroom burst open and the entire Weasley family, along with some members of the Order came hustling inside. Hermione was seen standing in the hall, her arms crossed. Harry knew she was still upset with him, but her anger wouldn't last long...

Ron and the other Weasley brothers clapped him on that back. Everyone was wishing Harry a Happy Birthday. Gifts came pouring in as Harry found himself unwrapping candy, clothes, Quidditch equipment, and magical objects.

Fleur had given Harry a cologne that smelled somewhat like the air at Hogwarts, which Harry laid cautiously aside; Fred and George had given him Tickle Tarts, which they told him they had used on Percy, who still having a fit of giggles; Lupin gave him an Observe-Me-Glass, which revealed the true form of anything that you might look at through it; Ginny - Adjusting Spray, which seemed to correct anything that you sprayed it on, and the list went on and on. Harry felt like he must have spent at least an hour opening presents and receiving greetings while Sirius's gift lay unopened on his bed. As much as he enjoyed the company of such an overwhelming amount of people, Harry couldn't wait for them to leave so that he could look at what Sirius had given him.

Finally, Mrs. Weasley said, "You know what, Harry, dear, you haven't even properly woken up yet. Why don't we all go downstairs and give Harry a proper breakfast and some time to breathe? Common now, all of you. Let's go, let's go!"

The crowd waved Harry good-bye and joined Hermione, who pursed her lips and walked out with the rest of them. Harry had no time to loose. He threw open the box and found a number of fascinating objects lying inside of Sirius's box, a piece of paper attached to each one with instructions and descriptions. He picked up the first one and it read:

_Harry,_

_This is a wizarding shield. It is quite light for the purpose of reflecting powerful spells while having the opportunity to attack an enemy at the same time. Simply say, "Directium," when you want to shrink it down to size for pocket-storage, and "Extensium," when you need to shield yourself from unfriendly spells without having to use any charms._

Harry muttered, "Extensium," while pointing to the small object with his wand and a big silver shield irrupted from its center. Half of it sank into his bed and Harry realized that it must have no effect on solid objects, but only on spells cast off by other wizards.

He tried it out and, as the spell hit the shield, it immediately bounced off, hitting a wall, and narrowly missing Harry's head. "Wow!" he said.

The next amount of objects included a cloak that shadowed your face, even if you were in broad daylight, a silencer that you wear around your neck so that no part of your body can make a sound, bands that prevented wounding when put on certain parts of the body, a cauldron that brewed whatever ingredients you put inside of it so that the potion that you wanted would turn out correctly, a spell detector that told the holder what spell they should use next and, finally, something that made Harry's mouth form the words, "No way!" as he pulled out what seemed like a rug.

_Harry,_

_This is a Magic Carpet. I know what you're thinking, and that they were banned by the Ministry of Magic, but this different. It's not a flying carpet, and that makes all of the difference in the world. However, it will transport you from place to place. Similar to the Floo network, you just step on the carpet and mutter where ever you want to go. And, by the way, Harry, all of these objects were inspected by Dumbledore and Moody, so you have nothing to worry about. However, if you'd like to ask them, just in case, be my guest. And, Harry, try not to use these objects to get into trouble. Oh, yeah, and the carpet doesn't work on Hogwarts grounds. Sorry!_

Harry looked down at the carpet, which seemed to be able to fit four people on it, at most, and knew what he had to do. He grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and said, "Diagon Alley," as he stepped fully onto the carpet and appeared right at the heart of wizarding stores and pubs. He picked up the carpet, making sure that no one had noticed him appear out of thin air and placed the invisibility cloak over it as he held it under his arm. He stepped into Gringotts and retrieved quite a sum of money from his vault. His next stop was the jewelry store, Rock Cutz, (If it sparkles, we have it!). Harry had overheard Mrs. Weasley telling Fleur that she had gotten her diamond earnings at that store. He made his way across to the section with rings, which seem to look like an ocean of sparkling jewels on hoops. Harry saw a very elegant and distinct ring with a blue center that had a swirling mass within it, looking like blue fog. He was so intrigued by the moves of the mystical haze, that he knew that he simply had to buy Hermione the silver coated ring if he ever wanted her to speak to him again. If anything says promise, though Harry, it's this ring.

He payed for it at the counter, while finding out that it cost more than he could have imagined, yet still turned out some of his galleons in his pocket and took the neat package in which the ring had been placed. Glancing at it once more, he pocketed it and left the store.

However, no sooner had he done so than a group from Hogwarts greeted him out in the alley. "Hey, Harry!" yelled Dean. "Isn't it your birthday today?"

Harry nodded, grinning. "Happy Birthday, then," he said, followed by similar pursuits from the others. "Say, Harry, would you mind passing this to Ginny?" he said as he shoved an envelope at Harry.

"Er, not at all," he said.

"Well, later, I'm afraid. We better get going. Have you gotten your Hogwarts letter yet, by the way?"

"No," said Harry.

"Shame. Me neither. I guess they're taking a bit longer considering the O.W L. scores." He shuddered. "Say, do you know who the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain will be?"

"Nope," said Harry, "not a clue. Can't wait to start playing again, though."

"Yeah, we need to kick Slytherin's butt at the Quidditch Cup again."

Harry grinned. They said their goodbyes and Harry sneaked off, taking the invisibility cloak off of the carpet and placing it on himself while stepping onto the rug and vanishing towards Grimauld Place.

As he secretly appeared in the living room, he saw Hermione pouring over books near the fireplace. He took off the cloak and approached her.

"Hermione?" he said.

"What, Harry?" He could tell she was still quite mad at him.

"I forgot to tell you something."

"Yes," she said as she still hadn't looked at him.

"Mrs. Weasley was right, you know. A promise is a promise," and he pulled out the ring from his pocket, "and I promise that I'll love you forever and never let anything bad happen to you."

Hermione gasped at the sight of the ring. "Oh, Harry! Where did you - how did you- it's beautiful!" She got up and kissed him as she took the ring. He could see her eyes shining with tears. "Harry, you know you didn't have to. Oh, I just feel terrible. Why didn't you tell me? Honestly, Harry, you can do quite a job on some people's nerves!"

"So you like it?"

"Of course I do! But how did you manage to get it?"

"I don't know if I should trust someone who doesn't seem to trust me as well."

"Harry, don't be ridiculous, you know I was only kidding."

"Well," said Harry, looking at the desperate look on her face, "alright." And he told her about Sirius's gifts and how he wanted him to come to the Department of Mysteries.

"Harry! You can't just disappear like that. Ask Moody before using anymore of those things. I mean, how could those things possibly be from Sirius if he's - if he's - ?"

"Fine, I'll ask him," said Harry, who didn't think that Hermione would find him telling her about what Luna said an amusing story.

"I don't believer it! I don't believe it!" They could hear Ron yelling somewhere from another room, "Harry! Hermione! Come see this!"

At first, Harry and Hermione had though that something had gone terribly wrong, and came rushing into the room, but were relieved to find Ron jumping up and down with stunned faces along side of him and clutching a Hogwarts-crested envelope.

"I did it! I got a nine! I got a nine on the O.W.L.'s! Can you imagine that?! I thought I'd have failed Potions for sure!"

Both Harry and Hermione congratulated him.

"Does that mean we got our Hogwarts letters, too?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, but I didn't want to be rude and, you know, open them myself," and he handed Harry and Hermione both their envelopes. Harry's envelope seemed heavier than usual. He ripped it open, his heart plummeting.

"A ten!" said Harry. "Excellent! Hermione what d'you - ?" But Harry stopped. He couldn't believe his eyes as a paper fell from the stack that he was holding along with a list of the new books that they would need. It was a letter addressed to Harry, or was it? How could it be?

"No! I...I can't be - how could he - he just told me - but - ?"

"Captain!" read Fred over Harry's shoulder.

"Not just any old Captain! Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain!" said George.

Hermione ran over and hugged Harry. "Oh, Harry - Congratulations!"

Ron shook his hand with a broad grin spread across his face.

"But - but why?" said Harry.

"Harry! You're probably the best Quidditch player on the team and you've played Quidditch for about five years now!" said Ron.

"Aren't - aren't you happy, Harry? Isn't this what you wanted?" said Hermione.

"Well...well yes, but - nothing, never mind."

"Now that's a birthday present!" said Fred. But the moment was interrupted as the Order came bursting into the room.

"All of you out! NOW! Emergency meeting! This is crucial! I SAID NOW!" yelled Moody.

Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys scampered out of the room, deserting it for the members of the Order as it filled and the door shut itself in a loud BANG!

"What do you think could have happened?" said Hermione, anxiously.

"I don't know..." said Harry.

"I've never seen them this upset before...even Moody. Something bad happened...I know it," Ron said, sounding panicky.

"We better go..." said Hermione, but just as the three of them turned to leave, the door opened and Lupin's face appeared out of the crack.

"Harry," he said gloomily, "I think you'd better come...there's something that we need to say - " But Moody interrupted him as he, too, emerged from the door.

"Potter, the gift - the gift - did you open it?"

"Gift? What gift?"

"The gift from Sirius!"

"Yes, yes I opened - is something wro - ?"

"Did you read the letter attached to it? Yes or no?" He sounded extremely severe.

"Of course, I - "

"Listen to me, Harry. There has been a sort of a, er, problem," said Lupin. "Somehow Voldemort found out about Sirius's communication with you. Harry, the veil, the black veil, do you remember it?"

"Yes..."

"Harry, it's - "

"Been destroyed," finished Moody.

"WHAT?!"

"I'm sorry," said Lupin. "There was nothing that we could do, but, I'm afraid that there is no way that you will be able to speak to Sirius - "

"NO!" yelled Harry.

"Harry, I - "

"ENOUGH!" barked Moody. "Remus! The meeting! Now!"

"Yes, yes, of course," he replied and they disappeared behind the thick wooden doors, leaving Harry's birthday memories crushed.

**A/N:** I know, I know. Here come the rants and the flames. I'm really sorry about the cousin thing, but I promise I can explain. It really isn't that big of a deal if you think about it. Just take a nice deep breath and consider the fact that I've still got a real long way to go until the end of the story. And I do have a reason for it, you know. It's all part of a subplot. So please think about it rationally and review. Also, sorry about Sirius, but he's as good as gone. Poor Harry. Sorry for all of you Sirius fans and all but we won't be hearing from him again, unfortunately. Many of you might be wonderinghow he was able to write the letter but Ichoose not to tell you that fornow.Other than that, I'll also explain what happened with the whole veil thing, but it really is complicated so it'lltake much of the story until I get to the acutual revelation in the end. But that's exactly why you should keep reading, right? Leave a comment, if you will!


	3. Threehundred, Coralgraze

**A/N:** I haven't exactly received any reviews yet, so if you guys could get me some of those, that would help a lot. Thanks!

Chapter 3

Three-hundred, Coralgraze

Harry was lying on his bed. It had been a full night since he walked out on his friends after receiving the news about the veil...

He hadn't spoken to anyone and didn't want to. He didn't even know if he had ever wanted to speak again. Suddenly, a soft knock came on the door.

"Go away!" said Harry, grumpily.

But it opened anyways and Ron walked in.

"What d'you want?" Harry said.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened, Harry, but you can't stay cooped up in here forever. Hermione's been locked up in her room as well; Ginny told me her pillow's been stained this morning, apparently with tears."

"Really?" asked Harry.

"Yeah," said Ron. "So anyway, mum asked me to tell you that I was going up to Diagon Alley today with Ginny to get some stuff for school. Hermione didn't want to come, though. Do you?"

"No," said Harry, "I'd rather stay as well," sitting up on his bed.

"Fine. What's that thing on your finger?" asked Ron, pointing to the ring on Harry's right hand.

"It's nothing," said Harry, drawing the his arm behind his back, hiding the promise ring and focusing on a new topic. "Going to meet Luna, are you?"

"No!" said Ron, going pink. "Maybe. Probably. Why do you care, anyway?"

"I don't," said Harry, "I'm just wondering why you're keeping it such a secret."

"It's not a secret! I just - just forget it, Harry."

"Listen, if you want to get there faster, you can use my Magic Carpet."

"Your what?!" And Harry explained Sirius's gifts to Ron. He listened with the utmost curiosity and finally thanked Harry as he took the rug and left.

Harry just sat there for a while, thinking, and got up out of the room after about five minutes of blanc thoughts running through his mind. As soon as he walked out of his room, he ran into a hurrying Ginny who apologized and began to run downstairs, when Harry suddenly remembered something and held her back, "Hey, Ginny! Dean wanted me to give you this, by the way." Harry handed her the letter. She took it and ripped it open right away, taking out a piece of parchment and, with it, dropping a picture of a boy, who Harry recognized was definitely not Dean though couldn't tell who it was, and wondered why that picture was in the letter, but decided that he didn't want to know. Ginny let out an, "Oh," and quickly picked up the photograph before Harry could lean over to examen it. She blushed and ran downstairs as she called back, "Thanks, Harry. Bye."

He walked around the mansion until he found Hermione sitting on the couch in the living room, gazing into the flames of the fire. Apparently, she had heard Harry come in because she said, "I'm still hoping, you know, that maybe, just maybe, Sirius will appear in the fire and tell us that everything's okay - that he's here for us - for you, Harry..."

"Me too..." said Harry dully and sat next to her as she put her hands around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

"We could have spoken to him again, couldn't we? Using the veil, couldn't we? Ginny told me that's what Luna said; she told me they could be spoken to...even when they're gone."

"Yeah, I know."

"Harry, how could he have known? How could he have found out? It's just not fair! How could he have?" breathed Hermione and then something suddenly came to her because Harry had noticed that the expression that she bore on her face had changed into a look of terror. She knows, thought Harry.

"Harry? Y-you didn't, did you? Y-you d-didn't have a-another d-dream, did you?"

"I-I-I did, Hermione."

Hermione made a very sharp intake of breath.

"I'm sorry, but there was nothing that I could have done, I just had it."

Hermione swallowed hard, "W-what was the dream about?"

"Sirius spoke to me from the veil, or at least it sounded like him because I didn't see his face."

"What did he say?" said Hermione, shocked.

"He said - he said -" but Harry didn't know what to say because how could he explain to Hermione exactly what the dream had meant?

"Listen, Hermione, you know when I told you about the prophesy?"

"He said that?" asked Hermione, comically.

"No, I mean do you remember when I told you?"

"Of course, how could I forget?" she said, turning red.

"Well, see, I was thinking about what had happened in the Department of Mysteries last year and I fell asleep and then Sirius's voice came and he said that I should tell you, by using the mirror..."

"What?! Harry, are you sure he was talking about you telling me about the prophesy? And are you sure that was really Sirius? You know what happened last year..."

"I know, Hermione. But no one knows about the mirrors except Sirius, my dad, Ginny, you and me."

"I still don't know, Harry....but why would he want you tell me?"

"I already told you that, Hermione," said Harry, who could feel heat rising out of him, "because I was just realizing how I really felt about you," and Hermione went pink.

Just then, Harry and Hermione were suddenly interrupted.

"We've got her! Mum! Dad! Come quick! We've got her! We've got Bellatrix Lestrange!"

Harry's insides went numb and, apparently, so had Hermione's. Bellatrix Lestrange was Voldemort's most loyal Death Eater, and she had killed Sirius just a couple of weeks ago...

The both of them immediately sprang from the couch and ran towards Charlie's voice, raising their wands in the air, prepared to fight. They stopped when they reached him at the entrance to the basement, but he was no longer conscious; Charlie was laying dead still on the floor next to Bill. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came running into the room and Harry watched their faces go white just like his and Hermione's had done. Mrs. Weasley couldn't move as she dropped her wand; Mr. Weasley ran up to Bill and Charlie, feeling both their foreheads and then pressing his ear to each of their chests, listening for a heartbeat.

"They're alright. Just a spell." Relief sprang over Harry.

"D-did he say Bellatrix Lestrange?" said Harry, bravely.

"I'm afraid so, Harry."

"Then they know. About the Order of the Phoenix's hide out, I mean. But how?"

"Harry, Tonks was one of the members that were protecting the veil the night that it was destroyed. She came back to us, telling us everything that happened. But - " Mr. Weasley shook his head " - it wasn't her. I don't even know if she's still alive at this point. Bellatrix must have transformed into her using the Polyjuice Potion. The trouble is, we don't know how long Bellatrix has been in Tonk's body; she could have found out anything. I don't know if we'll see Tonks again."

Harry and Hermione's mouths fell open.

Mrs. Weasley had now come to her senses. "Arthur, you don't think she's still here, do you?"

"Oh, no. She would have Dissaperated by now. But, I'm afraid, this means that Harry is no longer safe here. No one is. Dumbledore must be contacted immediately and we need to get you in another location as soon as possible, Harry, do you hear me? Molly, you go with Harry and Hermione and make sure they pack their things. I'll be sending an owl to Ron and Ginny, they won't be allowed to come back here, we'll have to go to the Burrow..."

"But, how did she escape the charm in the basement?"

"My guess is as good as yours, Hermione."

Hermione, however, whispered to Harry, "You don't think she could have overheard us when Charlie was telling us about the basement? Remember how I questioned it being full of Dark Magic? Maybe she would have know how to escape it. More importantly, Voldemort could have told her."

Harry didn't answer. First Sirius was taken away from him and now he had to leave Grimmauld Place.

He watched Mr. Weasley wave his wand at both Charlie and Bill's bodies and walk away with them, while Mrs. Weasley turned to Harry and Hermione, a look of horror still trapped on her face.

"Let's go, the sooner we get out of here, the better," her voice was unusually squeaky.

She led Harry and Hermione upstairs to their bedrooms where they picked up their belongings and were ready to leave.

"Shouldn't we get Ron's and Ginny's things too?" asked Hermione.

"Don't you worry about that, now," said Mrs. Weasley, "I'll take care of it."

They walked downstairs and met Mr. Weasley a second time.

"Dumbledore's just sent me this," he pointed at a piece of parchment that he held in his hand. "Harry, I'm afraid we have no choice but to send you back to your relatives -"

"No!" yelled Harry.

"I'm really sorry, Harry, but I'm afraid that you are in grave danger. Hermione, you're to come with us to the Burrow."

"Please, Mr. Weasley," said Hermione, desperately, "can't Harry come to the Burrow as well?"

"I'm afraid not. The only way that we can all be safe is if we are united with our own flesh and blo-" Mr. Weasley seemed to have realized what he had just said and Hermione looked at Harry, so he finished, " - what I mean is, Harry, you're best off with your family and Hermione should stay with us because, er, she's, er, well, she's definitely safer at the Burrow then she would be at her home."

Harry knew that Mr. Weasley was desperately fighting the urge to spill the fact that he was Hermione's uncle.

"Fine, then," said Harry, mournfully. "As long as you're safe," he told Hermione.

Hermione nodded. She looked from Harry to Mrs. Weasley to Mr. Weasley.

"Er," she said, "would you mind it if we had a moment alone?"

"Not at all," said Mr. Weasley and accompanied Mrs. Weasley to the front of the house.

"Harry, don't worry. Everything's always for the best."

"Oh, yeah? How?"

"I don't know," Hermione sighed, "but what I do know is that we'll see each other extremely soon. Don't worry, I'll write every day. I'll never forget you."

"I won't forget you either, Hermione," said Harry and kissed her.

"Be safe," said Hermione.

"You too."

And with that they walked on to meet Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They beckoned them into the Ford Anglia and both Harry and Hermione took a seat in the back of the car.

They first arrived at the Dursleys, who looked ready to throw up at the sight of Harry. He awkwardly shook hands with Hermione to hide the fact that he wanted to hold her hand one last time and opened the car door.

He gathered his trunk, along with Hedwig's cage and his Firebolt and made his way upstairs to the tattered bedroom, not looking up at the disgruntled Uncle Vernon as he detestably listened to Mr. Weasley's explanation of the situation. He gazed out of his bedroom window, only to see Hermione looking back at him from the car.

"I love you," he saw her mouth the words.

"I love you too," said Harry as he heard the door slam itself shut downstairs and Mr. Weasley get back into the car, driving away to the Burrow.

Harry just sat there in his old bedroom. There was absolutely nothing to do; he wasn't allowed to go outside the house and there was no point in writing to anyone because, if he did, there was nothing much that he could say.

He missed Hermione, and Ron, and the Weasleys, and the members of the Order. Well, not Snape, though Harry. And he was now just remembering one of the last accounts that he had with his Potions master, including a Pensive and his father in the old days. Harry couldn't possibly imagine what Snape would do to him once he found out that he had gotten an Outstanding on his Potions O.W.L.; he'd probably make his life an even more of a nightmare than it already was. And if he knew that Harry made Quidditch Captain, he'd probably flip; Harry would be laying stone dead the moment he would walk into his classroom.

Harry laughed. He imagined Professor Dumbledore's expression if he found Harry murdered by Snape during one of his lessons; death was nothing to Harry any longer. The less he cared about dying, the better, because, to Harry Potter, death was inevitable.

Suddenly, Hermione's voice rang in his head, "That's not funny, Harry...that's not funny at all..." And he knew that it wasn't something to joke about, but it made Harry feel just a slight bit better, knowing that if death came, he would not be afraid of it, just like Sirius told him to...

Harry suddenly sprang up from his bed in such a jolt that he found his hair standing on end as he was no doubt surprised to hear his trunk calling his name.

"Harry! Harry! I know you're there! Harry, pick up!"

Wondering what in the world his trunk wanted him to pick up, he hesitantly opened the top of it and rummaged through, only to find Hermione's face looking at him from the small square mirror that Sirius had given him. She startled him so much that he accidentally dropped the mirror on his not-so-neatly folded robes and felt sorry for not appreciating Ginny's reaction to his call earlier from the mirror.

"Jeez, Hermione! You scared me half to death!"

"Only half?" she said, though not smiling.

"Ha, ha, I'm not laughing." said Harry, more seriously than necessary.

"Neither am I," said Hermione, and she meant it. "Right, well, I snatched this mirror before I left from Grimmauld Place," she said.

"Good thinking! I completely forgot about it."

"Well, you wouldn't have really remembered considering the fact that it was in our bedroom."

"Oh, yeah. Is Ginny back with Ron, anyway?"

"Yeah, but there's something wrong with him," she shook her head.

"What?"

"I don't know. He's awfully quiet; hasn't spoken much to me or anyone else since he came back from Diagon Alley with Ginny..." said Hermione, in a strangely shaky voice.

"You don't think it's got something to do with Luna, do you?"

"Dunno. Maybe it does, maybe not. But that's not important right now, Harry. What is important is how could have Bellatrix found out where the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters was if Dumbledore was it's Secret Keeper? It doesn't seem possible! It can't be! You know he'd never betray us. I mean - it's Dumbledore!"

"He wouldn't, Hermione! He couldn't have. But I have no idea! My head's been ringing these past few days, but I haven't had any dreams. I guess all that Occlumency's paid off, huh?"

"Oh, that's wonderful, Harry!"

"Yeah...yeah...it is wonderful. But then, why doesn't it feel wonderful? Why do I feel as if I wish I knew what was going on again?"

"Oh, Harry, don't! Don't - please! You'll just be leading yourself into another trap!"

"No, I promise I won't, Hermione. But, it's just...hard, you know..."

"Yeah, I know, Harry. But it's alright..."

"Say, you never told me what you got on your O.W.L.'s?"

"Oh, you know, this and that and twelve."

"That's great!"

"Yeah, thanks."

"So you still don't want to study and become an auror with me, do you?"

"It's not that I don't want to Harry...it's just that...I don't know - it's a bit dangerous, isn't it?"

"Dangerous? Hermione, being an auror isn't dangerous. What we do everyday is dangerous. But, compared to that, fighting and capturing Dark wizards while gambling with your life is nothing - "

"Stop, Harry!"

"What?"

Harry could see tears gleaming in her eyes as he held the mirror in the palm of his hand.

"Don't you ever talk that way! Do you hear me?!" her voice sounded hurt and, what's even more, scared.

"Hermione, wha - ?"

"Harry, you told me about that prophesy. You - you told me and I don't know what kind of affect it's had on you, but it doesn't seem to be anything good. It's as if the fact that if you d-die and V-Voldemort lives - its' nothing to you. Well it is to me! Harry, he wants you dead! Do you hear me, dead?! He'll stop at nothing! And the fact that I care more about no one else in the world and that you're the only who can stop him and you - you're just acting like death is one big JOKE! I c-can't lose you Harry! Not now! Not ever!"

So many tears had ran down her face in the process of saying these words that it appeared to Harry as if someone had gotten a large bucket or water and emptied it in her face, a fact that made him feel, if possible, even worse.

"Hermione, there are things worse then death - "

"Like what, Harry?! Tell me! Like pain? You mean what I feel when I see you in danger or hurt or...something else? Or perhaps the Dementor's Kiss? Well, I don't know how much worse that is then death, but - "

"No," said Harry, quietly, shaking his head, "that's not it."

"What is it then? TELL ME, HARRY!" she screamed, "Because I don't think that I can stand the fact that there is something worse than how I feel right now..."

"Shhh. Hermione, calm down. It'll be alright. But...there is something worse. Do you remember when I told you that I had power that he didn't know of?"

She nodded.

"Well, Dumbledore told me that that is worse...that the power within me is worse than death. He told me that there's - "

But Harry stopped.

"Hermione, I reckon I shouldn't tell you now. This - this mirror thing...I don't know. It just doesn't seem safe enough..."

"I understand, Harry. Take care of yourself."

"I will. Listen, talk to Ron for me, alright?"

"I-I can't," she said breathlessly.

"Why not?"

"Because....because....," Hermione was breathing very heavily and Harry saw that there were huge tears in her eyes, once again.

"Because I don't know where he is."

"What do you mean!" said Harry quickly, standing up.

She swallowed hard and hesitated, apparently trying to hold back the tears, but it wasn't working.

"He's gone, Harry! He's g-gone! He came back from Diagon Alley, dropped off Ginny and told her to stay put along with me and the rest of the Weasleys. We though - we though he was joking or something. But then, he ate dinner and was not saying a word; there was something extremely wrong and I tried to talk to him afterward, but he just shunned me aside and went upstairs to his room. I-I followed, b-but when I got there, h-he was gone! Just like that! And I don't know how he could have, I mean, he can't have Disapperated! Unless he had a Portkey, but he couldn't have gotten one of those! Oh, where could he have gone?!" she sobbed.

Harry felt a whine of panic and guilt reside inside of him. He knew how Ron had disappeared - he had used the Magic Carpet that Harry had given him. But where did he go?

"Hermione, listen to me! Ron's fine! I think he's off to see Luna at Diagon Alley or something! Listen to me, remember me telling you that Sirius gave me a Magic Carpet that can sort of Apparate you from place to place, along with several other items, for my birthday?" She nodded. "Well, I let Ron borrow it to get to Diagon Alley with Ginny. He's fine, he's - "

"No! Harry, don't you get it?! That's it! That's it exactly! He isn't fine because you didn't see the expression that he bore on his face during dinner! Like he was ready to kill! I've never seen Ron like that! Never! Something isn't right, Harry! Ron's in danger! And there's nothing we c-can do!"

Harry felt furious. "Tell the members of the Order! They have to know!"

"No point! They already do, but they have no idea even where to search for him. Harry, I think Ron's gone after V-Voldemort!"

"WHAT!" shouted Harry, suddenly forgetting that the Dursleys were in the house.

However, he never got the chance to find out how Hermione got to that conclusion because, at that moment, Uncle Vernon burst through the door and he had to stuff the mirror back into his trunk, while listening to him run on about the fact that, as long as Harry was back in his house, he'd have to keep his annoying voice down enough so not to wake the dead, which, to Harry, could have well included Ron.

Harry was fit with rage. He was pacing around the room. He didn't know what to think or what to do. But there was nothing he could do, he told himself stupidly. All he could do is sit there and wait, just like last summer. Why would Ron have done such a thing? He couldn't take it anymore; he was going to write to Dumbledore.

He took out a piece of parchment and a quill and wrote:

Professor Dumbledore,

My Keeper is missing. Can you help me find him? This is URGENT!

Harry

Harry knew it didn't sound too good, but at least it wasn't obvious. If anything, he hoped Dumbledore would remember who Gryffindor's Keeper was. He attached the paper to Hedwig's leg and watched as the snowy owl disappeared in the deep blue sky, hoping that she would come back with a reply more promising than Ron's return.

Harry picked up one of the books on his bed and threw it against the window, hearing it shatter and then repair itself magically, without meaning to. He couldn't feel anything anymore. This was so STUPID! he told himself. Dumbledore probably already know he's gone, why did I send that idiotic letter?!

But Harry knew why, because, if he could, he would have already been out of the Dursleys' home and out there looking for Ron. Though Harry was tempted, he held himself back. You know what happened last year, he thought, don't do it again! Ron's probably...probably fine!

Before he could think or do anything, he stumbled as he heard a loud crack of Apparation and the front door downstairs creak open as a familiar voice argued with Uncle Vernon.

"I'm sorry, but I need to see Potter - "

"You will not barge into my house and demand to see anyone, sir!"

Sir? thought Harry. Oh, no. It can't be...It was.

"Snape?!" yelled Harry, as he found his Uncle face-to-face with a rather poisonous Potions teacher of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"That's Professor to you, Potter! Don't you dare speak like that to me! I come here on Headmaster's orders and you treat me like that! I should have your neck!" said Snape, at which Harry found himself staring into Snape's eyes in deep hatred as his fingers curled slowly around his collar.

"But no matter," he said with rage as he let Harry go, Uncle Vernon watching him with most interest. Harry's fingers were already gripped tightly around his wand and ready to strike incase Snape tried anything else.

"Listen, now, Potter. I take absolutely no interest in being here at this very moment, but considering that your little friend has gone missing, well, it just came to everyone's attention that you might try something out of the ordinary to try and save him. Come, we're leaving. Get you're stuff and hurry up, Potter - "

"Where's Ron got to? Have you been told anything?"

"I said now, Potter! Do not ask me questions. You should already be at the required location, but I doubted that was possible considering your extremely slow mind to follow orders...and such..." He smirked.

Harry could have kicked him, and he felt that it would have suited him very well. He stomped off to his room. This was not happening, he told himself. If only Malfoy was here, then all of the people that hated him to his very bone would all be together in the same house. He then thought of Voldemort, but no, he didn't hate Harry, he despised him; he wanted him dead the day he was born.

He gathered his things once again and met Snape down in the hallway where he had apparently scared Uncle Vernon into finally leaving his presence. Snape raised his unpleasantly large nose into the air in recognition of Harry's presence and whipped around, informing Harry to follow him. But Harry didn't care, he wanted to know where Ron was, and if Snape squashed him on that very spot, he wouldn't give a damn.

"Where's Ron!" sneered Harry as he broke of Snape just as he reached the door.

"Get away from the door, Potter!" said Snape, smiling slightly, which send a chill down Harry's spine; if anything was worse than seeing Snape give him a loathing look, it was him giving one with a grin. "I do not know of Weasley's whereabouts at the moment, but as soon as the fool has gotten himself killed, I'm sure we'll - "

"Shut up!" yelled Harry.

Snape suddenly grabbed him by his clothes and slammed him against the door.

"You may be a student up at the school where Dumbledore is watching your pretty little back, Potter, but I can make your life every bit of a torture as much as I want it to be outside of Hogwarts."

It was Harry's turn to laugh, which he did with the utmost pleasure. "You don't know, do you? If you went crawling back to dear old Voldmort right now he'd kill you! But you don't know who I am, do you?! You don't know what I can do...what I'm meant to do..."

Snape suddenly released Harry. He grasped his arm, where Harry knew very well he had the Dark Mark engraved onto his skin.

"Anyway," continued Harry, "there is no possible way that you could make my life any more of a living hell," as he opened the door and stepped outside, looking back at Snape. "It's practically my home."

Snape looked at him and, for the first time, said, "Right you are, Potter,...right you are..."

"So," said Harry, slightly scowling, "how are we getting to, er, wherever we're going, er, Professor?"

Harry swallowed Snape's most unpleasant expression as he came to the side of the road, and his eyes widened as he hear him cry, "Reverto Transport Dans Lit!"

Suddenly, the earth trembled, and Harry felt as if the world was coming to an end as he watched the ground on the middle of Privet Drive suddenly tear open as if with a knife and reveal a dark hole, in which it seemed something gigantic, exciting, and golden was passing through.

"Well? Coming, Potter?" he said as he got near the hole and, to Harry's surprise, jumped inside of it just as Harry had done with Ron when they found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry gulped, but got near the dangerous-looking hole, looked around the street to see if any Muggles or cars were coming, and, doubtfully, jumped in after Snape.

In great awe, he found himself in an underground tunnel, full of excited-looking wizards and witches who were busily talking amongst themselves, although it seemed as if none of them had just noticed that a sixteen-year-old boy had just dropped from the ceiling. However, he found that the reason for their reactions was merely the fact that more and more people seemed to be dropping right out of the sky, suddenly appearing from the top of the tunnel and dropping to the floor with an "ouch."

He looked around and saw Snape standing right next to him, his long black cloak swaying from what seemed to be and incredibly fast and bronze metro that kept stopping to let several wizards and witches on it and then leaving in a matter of seconds.

Harry rubbed his eyes. Surely he was imagining the fact that there had always been an underground wizarding station right below Little Whinging and he was just finding out about it's existence.

He finally got up and brushed the dirt off his clothes, standing next to Snape.

"Er, sir?" said Harry. "Er, where exactly are we?"

Snape sighed, rolling his eyes, "As always, I should expect for you to know very little, Potter. If you had been keeping a closer eye on the Daily Prophet you would have already known that the new Minister of Magic has currently installed a Wizarding Metro throughout London."

But Harry hadn't been looking at the Daily Prophet these past couple of days; he had been to busy with his birthday and Hermione...

"Who's the new Minister of Magic?" he asked.

Snape gave him a disgusted look and said, "Do you know nothing, Potter?"

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Percy Weasley," he muttered.

"What?" said Harry, nearly falling to the ground once more.

Snape nodded, unpleasantly.

"P-Percy did this?" said Harry, not only surprised that anyone in their right minds would make him Minister of Magic, but that he would come up with such a brilliant idea.

"Don't get your thoughts up about a Weasley, Potter. Percy is working through Dumbledore; it was the Headmaster's idea to make sure that wizards and witches had a bit of a safer way to travel with children other than the Knight Bus, and quicker too, I might add."

Harry was still in shock.

"Yes, it was the Wizengamot's idea to refer to him as the new Minister considering the fact that Fudge no longer wanted the job, now that the idiot is convinced the Dark Lord has returned. No - they simply wanted Dumbledore to fill the position. But we all know Dumbledore as the one to rightfully remain at Hogwarts. However, making sure that Percy was made Minister of Magic would give him the advantage of passing all of his ideas through young Mr. Weasley."

Harry could feel a quiver of hate in Snape's voice, but he didn't mind; anything that annoyed Snape was worth hearing.

"I dare say the boy knows nothing about what he is doing..."

But Harry wasn't listening as he found himself staring at the shining stars that appeared next to the red numbers that were floating on a huge board above their heads. Harry had no idea what the stars meant, but as soon as the bronze metro stopped in it's tracks to pick up travelers, the stars would suddenly spark out from beside the number, whizzing around excitedly, and then dim out as the metro's doors would shut and it would take off at the speed of light.

He then turned his attention to an elderly witch who approached Snape and tugged on his sleeve, at which he jumped.

"Sir, would you and your son here mind helping me with my bags? I've been banned from using my wand considering my unsteady grip and I - "

"He is not my son!" spat Snape, as he took what the woman had said as the most insulting thing in the world.

Harry also frowned; he couldn't imagine anything worse than being Snape's son, unless he was perhaps Voldemort's, at which he shuddered.

"So sorry," replied the witch, "but do you mind?"

"Er," said Snape, "sorry, out train is almost - "

"Sure, I'll help," said Harry.

Snape however, held him back. "You are not of age to use magic! The Headmaster did not go through the trouble with the Ministry to get you expelled!"

"I don't need to use magic!" said Harry. "I could carry them myself, you know. It's called Muggle handling."

Snape stared at him and then grinned mischievously. "I'd like to see you try."

Harry, thankfully, had no trouble handling the baggage whatsoever. It seemed that the bags were already bewitched with a weight-lightening spell that made things a lot easier for Harry. When he finally finished putting all of the bags on the cart, while Snape stood aside with his arms crossed and carrying the worst expression imaginable, apparently upset that Harry managed it so easily, the woman smiled at Harry and held out her hand. At first, Harry wasn't sure what to do, but then he said, "oh," and shook her hand, at which he found her slip something into his hand and wink when letting go as she left with her things.

He watched the woman leave, curiously, and then looked into the palm of his hand, where he found a small silver locket in his hand with the letter "P" engraved on the front. Harry stared at it, and then attempted to open the locket, at which he succeeded. Harry's jaw dropped; he couldn't believe his eyes. There, in the locket, was a picture of his parents, who were in each other's arms and grinning broadly up at him. Harry looked back at the woman and called, back! Do you know - ?" But it was too late; the woman was gone.

Who was she? thought Harry. Did she know my parents, and if so, did she recognize me? But then, thought Harry, why did she think that Snape was his father? Harry shuddered again.

"Fascinating," said Snape, but in a tone that made Harry think that he didn't believe it was fascinating at all. "Hurry up, Potter. Our train is here."

Harry followed Snape into the metro and took a seat next to him that was also bonded in bronze. He then quickly took on another subject, stuffing the locket inside of his jeans.

"That was a really long spell that you used to get into the metro."

"Yes," sneered Snape, "it is a particularly new one and, I'm afraid the new spells are getting a bit longer and more difficult to memorize...that is, afraid for you, Potter. You see, undoubtingly large though your head may be, it is also quite empty and, must I say, likes to stay that way, but I assure you, if you need help, I'm sure that - "

"I'll be able to figure it out on my own, thanks," said Harry, who began to feel the anger boiling up inside of him and decided to better not speak to Snape unless he absolutely needed to do so.

"I wasn't offering my help, Potter," he said in an icy tone.

"Good," said Harry, "I didn't ask for it." However, the image of Snape reaching for his wand suddenly made Harry shut up.

Finally, the bronze metro took off as fast as it had come and Harry found himself being thrust unwillingly against Snape and feeling that his black robes were just as cold and slimy as they looked. As soon as the train stopped, Snape snatched his cloak out from under Harry, to which Harry gratefully pulled himself upright.

"Welcome to Coralgraze Seashore," said a voice from the speakers as it echoed throughout the long metro.

"Seashore?" said Harry. "What - ?"

"Shut up, boy!" yelled Snape. "This way."

Harry followed Snape to one of the narrow passageways that he supposed led to the outside. As they reached the end, however, Harry found that the tunnel was a dead end.

"Er - " said Harry, but before he could finish, Snape stepped up to it and yelled, "Lit Renvoyer," at which the passage seemingly split open just like the road on Privet Drive had done.

Harry stepped forward towards the light leading outside, but Snape took hold of his shoulder with his cold hand. He then quickly released him as if he had just touched something absolutely filthy.

"Not yet," he said. "Here - " Snape then took out from the threshhold of his pocket what seemed like a tiny bird cage, a broom, and a trunk, all of which belonged to Harry, but had been very much reduced in size.

"My stuff!" said Harry. "How did you - Wait, where's Hedwig?"

"I already sent her to - never you mind," said Snape and pointed to the things on the palm of his hand with his wand, saying, "Engorgio."

Suddenly everything quickly gained its regular size as Snape dropped Harry's belongings on the floor.

"Accio invisibility cloak," said Snape, once more, and Harry's invisibility cloak suddenly sprang from his trunk, which Snape caught, and another minuscule one slipped out of Snape's robes, whose size he also magnified.

"Put this on," he hissed, as he wrapped his own cloak around his shoulders and Harry followed suit.

Snape pointed his wand at where they had come from and Harry had the impression that someone had been following them, but, just then, Snape yelled, "Trackaperra," and both of their footprints glowed in fire at which they burned to the crisp and were blown about in the wind.

"That'll make sure we're non-trackable," Snape explained. "Right, follow my voice, Potter," said Snape as he fully covered himself with his Invisibility Cloak and Harry followed, walking outside to smell what was unmistakably the smell of the....ocean.

Harry watched as they made their way out onto a cliff full of beat-down huge rocks and, as he looked back, he watched as the one that they had walked out of seal itself back up after being cut open for an exit.

"This way," spat Snape.

Harry had the impression that he wanted him to walk of the cliff, in high hopes, of course, but he stopped when he saw Snape's hands appear from under the cloak along with his head, which looked down at a piece of parchment that they were holding, and said, "Three-hundred, Coralgraze."

An enormous lighthouse rapidly sprang from the rocky ground that looked just as ancient as the rocks around it and Harry watched as Snape made the parchment from which he read disappear with a 'pop.'

The doors of the giant lighthouse barged open and he found himself entering it's strange walls as a breezy wind blew through his hair from the entrance. He figured that Snape had already walked in and put his things down at the entrance, which were carried with difficulty across the uneven rocks.

He looked up and found his jaw dropping once more as he saw the most beautiful surroundings; the lighthouse had an enormous staircase that winded at the center and led to the next floor up and, eventually, to the top. Harry had to admit that the inside of the lighthouse was much larger than the outside; it was more like a mansion than anything and Harry had the idea that, surely, this lighthouse was not merely an artifact, but someone's residence. But whose?

"Welcome, welcome, Harry," he heard a familiar voice that sure enough belonged to the Headmaster of Hogwarts - Albus Dumbledore. "So glad you made it here, safe and sound, I trust, Severus?"

"Yes, Headmaster. Everything went as planned," Snape answered, nodding his head.

"Brilliant," said Dumbledore. "Now, Harry, you will find that this is now the new headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix owing to yesterday's most unfortunate event," Dumbledore shook his head, but smiled. "This is my home, Harry. And, may I trust you to make it yours as well?"

"Yes. Sure. Thanks," said Harry, still at awe at the beautiful paintings that resided on the walls of the circular lighthouse.

"You see, Harry," Dumbledore continued as he walked with him up the stairs, leaving Snape to go off somewhere that Harry did not know off, "this place used to be a research center for Hogwarts. However, when it got old and useless, I found there was no need to destroy such a miraculous establishment and so I made it my home."

Harry grinned. He couldn't see a reason not to make the place a home; it was spectacular. Just the very sight of the engraved seashells and chandeliers that sounded off to the beat of the waves against the shore took his breath away.

And then there was the very presence of the gigantic windows that surrounded parts of the lighthouse as he watched the water glistening below them and stretch for miles against the sun in the periwinkle sky. Harry now realized why he felt the breeze when he walked inside - the lighthouse had been bewitched to contain the air of the beach and the ocean that surrounded them.

They walked past two huge wooden doors that had dolphins carved out on both sides and seaweed for handles, which Dumbeledore explained to be his bedroom and noted that for no reason whatsoever was anyone to go in there but himself, with a grin. "I have secrets, Harry, that even I'm afraid to reveal to myself," he snickered.

"Is this where you went, Headmaster" asked Harry, eagerly, "when you were hiding out last year?"

"Yes, Harry," he replied, "but I must say that my stay here was not long considering all the tasks that I had to perform for the Order," he added sadly.

Then Harry remembered something, "Sir, is Ron -? "

"We are currently not aware of Mr. Weasley's location at the moment, I am sad to say, Harry. But I assure you, with no doubt whatsoever, that we will have him back safe. In the mean time, the Order is having a meeting in the gallery downstairs and they will meet you for dinner as soon as you've finished, erm, discussing things with Miss Granger - "

"Hermione's here?" asked Harry, more anxiously than he would have hoped.

Dumbledore chuckled, "Yes, Miss Granger is, indeed, present and if you proceed up the stairs as such, you will find her waiting for you in the next two rooms up; there are sea turtles on the door. In the mean time, you will excuse me for having to take care of some business, Harry, won't you?"

"Oh, sure," said Harry, rather amusingly as he watched Dumbledore open the door on his side, only to reveal a beautifully marbled bathroom. Harry grinned to himself and hurried of upstairs to the turtle-decorative doors.


	4. Afrenthologists

**A/N:** Please guys, I promise that I'll update much sooner if I get some reviews. I honestly will. I'm not asking much, I just need to know if you like/dislike the story so far, and I honestly don't mind if the reviews are negative, just say something!

Chapter 4

Afrenthologists

Harry took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair, a habit that he had unknowingly taken up recently, and opened the great oak doors suspending carved sea turtles that were swimming around in the background.

To his surprise, he not only found Hermione beaming up at him and sitting on one of the majestic king beds in the room, but also Ginny, Fred, and George.

Hermione immediately got up, but before she could make any further movements, Harry ran towards her and lifted her up, spinning her around in circles in the air, at which she giggled. He put her back on the ground and gave her a kiss on the cheek, after which he turned to the three Weasleys and their eyebrows that had escaped so high up that they were covered entirely by their red-flaming hair.

"What?" asked Harry, still laughing and caught a glimpse of a grinning Hermione at his side, at which his heart leapt.

"Oh, nothing," said Ginny, casually.

"Listen, about Ron - " Harry began.

"Relax, mate," said Fred, "Dumbledore said he'll be just fine - "

"Yeah, that's what he told me too, but then where - ?"

"We think he's gone off to see Luna," said Ginny.

"But didn't he see her at Diagon Alley already?" asked Harry.

"No," she said, shaking her head, "she never showed up."

"Of course," said Harry, struck with a sudden realization, "the veil was destroyed and her mother - "

Everyone was looking up at Harry in surprise.

"She told me that she lost her mother when she was about nine years old, but that she's been communicating with her through the veil. If the veil was destroyed by Voldemort" - the Weasleys jumped in their seats - "then that means that she won't be able to ever speak to her again. No wonder she didn't show up; she must have been too upset."

"But that means - " said Hermione, " - wait, but how do we know that Ron went to see her?"

"That's the problem," sighed George, "we don't."

"The git, he could have at least told us where he was going or sent an owl by now. Mum's going to vaporize him when he gets home - " said Fred.

"Don't - " said Hermione, and Harry could tell that she was wearing an expression of pure worry on her face.

"He'll be fine, Hermione," said George.

"Yeah," said Fred, "after all, he is a growing boy - "

"Fred, George, Ginny," came a voice that echoed all around the room, belonging to Mrs. Weasley, "come help me set the table, will you?"

Fred pointed his wand at his mouth and muttered something, after which his voice rang out seemingly through the room, "Coming, mum."

"Let's go," said Ginny. "We'll see you two later."

"Oh, and by the way," said George, "expect another celebration party; Ginny's made prefect."

"Congratulations!" said Harry.

"Thanks," Ginny called back.

"And who's - ?" But all three of them had walked out of the door, shutting it behind them and leaving Harry and Hermione alone.

He turned to Hermione, "Who's the other prefect for Gryffindor?"

But before she replied, she thrust his hands around his neck, and gave him an incredibly deep kiss.

"Colin Creevey," she said, after finally letting go.

"What?" said Harry.

"Yeah, I know, but no matter. Say, Harry, have you been at the top yet? This place has got an amazing view. Let's go." And before he could say anything else, she grasped his hand firmly and pulled him out of the room, leading him up the staircase and to the top of the lighthouse, where he found a very old and giant observatory and glass doors surrounding it in a decagon, leading to an outside boardwalk that had an astonishing view.

He and Hermione walked outside and were both thrust against each other in the surprise of the wind blowing hard against them. They made their way to the front of the lighthouse, however, still in each other's arms, and looked out into the wide ocean before them, grasping the newly polished wooden railing tightly.

Hermione let go of Harry and spread her hands out into the wind, leaning against the railing and laughing, and then quickly put them back down as she looked at how high up she was standing. She turned to Harry and said, "Oh, it's so wonderful, isn't it, Harry?"

"Yeah..." said Harry, "you are!"

She smiled at him and put her hands around his neck.

"I happen to think you're quite wonderful yourself, Harry, did you know?"

"Yeah, I knew," he said, grinning, "and do you know how amazing I think you are?"

An even bigger smile spread across her face. "Hmmm. Tell me."

"Well...first of all, your eyes are so deep, they remind me of the ocean blue; I feel as if I'm sometimes drowning in them...and your hair feels so gentle when I run my hand through it, it feels as if I'm getting a touch of heaven...and it smells...it smells like something incredible...I can't tell what, but it's kind of like your own amazing sent...and your skin is so warm when it touches mine I sometimes get the impression that I've just swallowed all the butterbeer ever made...and your lips, of course, they've got a mix of marmalade, and fudge chocolate, and honey, and..."

But before he knew it, Harry was once again kissing Hermione. They both let go and she said, "Anything else?"

"Yeah," he ran his fingers through her sleek brown hair, "I love you."

"Oh, Harry, I love you too."

And she kissed him again.

Harry drew away and asked, "And what about me? What do you find so incredible about the bloody Boy Who Lived."

Harry grew tense and released Hermione, grasping the railing with both of his hands and staring angrily into the ocean.

Hermione put a comforting hand on his shoulder and leaned her head against it. "Do you really want to know what I see when I look at you?" she said, turning him around to fully face her and taking off his glasses, placing them on herself.

"Well, right now I see Harry, just Harry, my Harry; the Harry that I'm in love with. I don't see any scars, or pain. I only see love, Harry; the love that I have for you. And you know what? I can barely see a bloody thing right now in these glasses."

Harry laughed.

"Do you really?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered, kissing him once more. Harry trailed the kisses down her jaw line and across her neck. Hermione giggled, saying, "Harry, you better put these back on, I think you might be missing my mouth," and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Yeah, you just missed mine too," he said and she took off his glasses, placing them back onto his eyes at which Hermione came back into focus and Harry drew his breath, once again realizing just how beautiful she really was.

Harry and Hermione leaned forward and their lips brushed against each other one last time before walking out from the deck and into the lighthouse, which they found surprisingly warm, having stood out in the breezy wind for a good long half-hour.

They made their way downstairs, hand in hand, but Harry soon stopped to wait for Hermione as she told him that she needed to grab something from her bedroom. But as soon as she walked in the door, Harry heard her scream and quickly ran in after her.

"Hermione! What's -?" But all Harry could do was grin as he saw that she was rapidly talking to Ron, and, without question, was yelling at him for making them worry.

"Where have you been? Do you have any idea that Harry and I might have gotten ourselves killed looking for you? Why didn't you tell us a thing? Answer me, Ron!"

Ron didn't look up at her or Harry, and Harry could tell that he didn't want to talk to either one of them. But surprisingly, he lifted up his head and smiled, first looking at Hermione, and then at Harry and said, "I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't thinking. But, then again, people do crazy things when they're - er - well - "

"Hermione, do you mind if I talk to Ron? Alone?" said Harry, whose grin had suddenly fell and took an intense tone.

Hermione still had a look of furry at Ron on her face, but nodded at Harry and, before she left, hugged Ron and said, "Oh, you idiot!" eventually walking off downstairs and shutting the door behind her.

"Well?" said Harry, apparently more mad with Ron than he imagined.

"Well what?" asked Ron.

"You heard Hermione. Where've you been? Did you know that the Order was running amok trying to find you? You drove everyone mad! I thought - I - I didn't know what to think!" yelled Harry.

"Yeah, well, at least now they realize I was gone...or at least that I was there in the first place..."

"Ron, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that no one even notices that I'm there! I'm talking about the fact that if I wasn't your best friend, they wouldn't even have bothered looking for me!"

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course they would! What about your family? They were worried sick!"

"Oh, yeah. Fred and George just couldn't except the fact that I was finally out of their lives."

"Ron, you know that's what they do - try to get on your nerves. And you just - you - you just shut up, Ron, because you don't know what you're talking about. When everyone thought you were gone - Hermione was in tears, your siblings were shaking, I was fit with rage - "

"That's good to know," said Ron quietly, with a hint of guilt in his voice.

"Where were you anyway?"

Ron turned to him, an unpleased look in his face. "At Luna's," he said simply.

Harry dropped his arms to his sides.

"That's it? That's it. You were at Luna's?! And do you know where everyone thought you were? Huh? At the clutches of Voldemort! Or better yet, dead!"

Ron sighed, impatiently, but spoke, "You don't know what it's like, do you? Always being shunned aside while everyone else gets what they want? Well I've got news for you Harry: That's exactly what my life is all about. Yes, I know I have a huge family that loves me and I know I have two of the best friends in the world, but what if there was something else that I wanted? Did you ever consider that, Harry? What if I wanted something that I didn't know if I could or could not have?"

He took a deep breath.

"Well, let me tell you something Harry. Luna might be this strange girl who no one understands, but she's the only one who's ever understood me. And when that letter came from her, telling me to meet her, I couldn't have been happier. But you and Hermione just couldn't understand that, now, could you?"

"Hey, I never said - "

"And then, of course, at Diagon Alley, when she didn't show up and I found out the reason - because she was never going to see her mum again and because she was considering dropping out of Hogwarts. Did you know that her mother was a great witch? She was really something, Harry. Kind of like Hermione. Now I know that Hermione can have her nose up and about in things sometimes, but you have to admit that she's got a way with brilliance for her age. Well, Luna's mother was the same. And one day, she was gone, when she was trying to find a cure for something, Harry. A cure for something that no one else had ever managed to find; something that could have well saved people against the fate like the Longbottoms. It was a cure for pain, both mental and physical. But one day, it got the better of her, because she had tried to test it on herself, and she died. Just like that Harry. Like your parents died - protecting. Like Sirius. And here is the one girl who has ever showed any understanding towards me and, when I arrived to meet her, I realized that she wasn't coming; and it was as if my world fell on end. The words, She forgot about you, Weasley. She doesn't care, just like everyone else,' rang through my head. Well, later I went to see her and I obviously found out what had happened; that day before she was going to visit her mother by the veil with her father by her side - but you don't know what happened, do you? At that same moment, You-Know-Who attacked the veil to stop your communication with Sirius. Because you just couldn't control your dreams, could you? And her father was killed, but she survived. She survived because of the experience that she had last year and because, when her mother died, she received the gift of not feeling pain, Harry. Her mother had done it! She found the cure, but at the cost of her own life and only for her daughter! Well, now Luna's an orphan, Harry. Just like you. And I hope you're happy, I really do. Because it was all your bloody fault that her father was killed and now she won't be able to speak to her parents ever again! ALL BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T CONTROL YOUR DAMNED DREAMS! You know, Hermione was right; you weren't taking Occulumency seriously. Well, thanks, Harry, thanks...a lot."

And with that Ron pushed Harry aside and left the room, leaving Harry in a state of blank consciousness.

Harry suddenly wheeled around and yelled, "Ron, WAIT!"

He came out of the room and found Ron standing frozen on the staircase, not looking back.

"You don't understand! There's something you have to know!"

Ron turned around, slowly, and only slightly looking up at Harry.

Harry walked over to the rail by the stairs and stared out into the window that led outside.

"I don't know if this will explain things, Ron, or if it will mean anything to you, but that - that prophecy, last year, that was smashed....it - it was about me. And Voldemort. I'm meant to kill him Ron! Kill him or die trying! Do you understand that!?" Harry breathed, still not looking at Ron and wondering if he believed what he was saying. "It was prophesied before I was even born and that's why he attempted to kill me when he murdered my parents; he knew a part of the prophecy, but not the entire thing. I - I have a power that he doesn't know about; a power that even Dumbledore doesn't know of, and even I don't know of...This power, it - it's the only thing that can kill him, but, if I don't do it, no one else can. And - and we both can't live at the same time, so for all that matters, it could well be sooner than I imagined. But that power - that's why I had to save Sirius and that veela girl - it's a part of me. A part of me that I can do nothing about, Ron. And I try to control my dreams, I really do, but I just - it's hard sometimes. Especially when it was Sirius - "

Harry felt Ron clasp a hand on his shoulder. "I believe you, mate. I'm sorry."

Harry snorted, "What for? It's all my fault for what happened to Luna. And what if something happens to you or Hermione? And - and there's something you have to know, Ron. As - as Hermione's cousin." - Ron gasped - "Yeah, she told me about that, but only recently. I - I'm in love with her, Ron. And she loves me too. I hope you can forgive us, we only - "

But Harry stopped as Ron started laughing. "Forgive you? How can I forgive you for falling in love with each other when I just saw you snogging like warthogs on the deck; kissing like each was the Breath of Life? I can't forgive you, Harry. No - but I can stand behind you. All the way, mate. All the way..."

"Y-you don't mind?"

"Harry, I'm happy for the two of you! Don't you get it? Hermione's been in love with you for so long, I can't even count the time. And you - you git couldn't even realize it sooner!"

"S-sorry," Harry replied. "Oh, and Ron,"

"Yeah," said Ron, who turned around, still suppressing a grin.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Though, it was pretty funny when she put on your glasses."

Harry stared at him as they descended the stairs.

"How long had you been watching?"

"Long enough! Trust me!" he laughed. "I'm just kidding with you, mate. Only for a couple of minutes. And it would have been shorter, I've got to say, if I had not been frozen in shock at the two of you making - "

They turned the corner and ran into Mrs. Weasley, who gave them an odd look.

"Tea," explained Harry. "Ron was just remembering how we brought him tea last year when he was knocked out after Quidditch." He gulped and looked from Mrs. Weasley to Ron, whose ears had turned red.

Mrs. Weasley laughed and proceeded, "Dinner's ready."

She looked at Ron, and Harry watched her eyes water as she tried to hold back, but ended up grabbing her son in a rather tight hug and kissing him on the cheek.

"Mum!" said Ron, at which Mrs. Weasley let go and whipped the tears from her eyes in a handkerchief nudging them towards what Harry had in mind to be the dinning room.

"Tea?" Ron said, still laughing, "Hey, wait a minute - no one knows about to two of you, do they?"

"Shhhh. No. And I want it to stay that way - "

"But, why?"

"I'll explain later," said Harry who had taken a seat next to Lupin. "Any sign of Tonks yet?"

Lupin shook his head. "No, Harry. I'm sorry. We don't know where she is. Heaven's hope that she's alright, of course, but no one's been able to tell yet."

Harry noticed that Lupin was looking like his weary self again and realized that it must have been full moon.

"The moon full again?" he asked.

"No," Lupin said, "it's just been a tough time for the Order, Harry. A lot has been going on."

"Like what?" asked Harry, anxiously.

"Well..." he said, glancing at Mrs. Weasley, "I can't tell you much, Harry, but I can say that Voldmort's been up to a few old and new tricks. Destroying the veil was one of them. And then of course there's - well - "

"What?"

"He's recruited the giants - "

"No!"

"Yeah. And the dementors. He even got some veelas on his side."

Harry's eye's bulged and he glance over at Fleur, who he saw chattering away with some of the members of the Order, and gave Lupin a confused look.

"She's been helping us," nodded Lupin, "but you know what they're like - can't convince them all. The centaurs have gladly agreed to fight by our side, though."

"Really? Since when?"

"Oh, since Dumbledore convinced them that Voldemort would enslave them into becoming working mules," he chuckled. "It was a tough job, though. Hagrid's also talked to Aragog, you know; that giant spider and his army, so they'll be helping as well. Then, we're still hoping that Hagrid's little brother will be able to help us, but I doubt it. Charlie has mastered to get us some dragons, if worst comes to worst, and well - "

"Is this really going to be like a real war, Remus?"

"I'm afraid, Harry, that it is. I'm afraid...it is." He shook his head again.

Harry sighed.

He finally got the chance to take a look around the beautiful dining hall in which they were about to eat. Over thirty people were walking around and discussing things before finding a seat and settling themselves down on the long table covered with an aqua tablecloth that Harry just recognized to be enchanted to look like the ocean and was amazed to see a small fish jump out in front of his plate, which was floating on the top, and plunge back into the water. Harry wondered if it was safe to lean his elbows against the table and, as he did so, he found the waves that were passing his table setting to be just as sturdy as a regular table and not at all wet. He looked down the table and noticed that it was even longer than the House tables at Hogwarts, and found that it was rather ironic that all the seats were filled. His eyes were then cast upon the ceiling and he noticed that there was a swirling mass above them, just like the pictures of hurricanes that Harry had seen while watching the news at the Dursleys'. The walls, Harry surprisingly only noticed, were covered with gigantic paintings of underwater life that Harry had never seen before, yet some that he had already, including merpeople and giant squids. Above them, a huge banner was suspended reading, "Congratulations, Ginny Weasley - New Gryffindor Prefect!" He looked around at Ginny and noticed that people were walking up to her and clapping her on the back, obviously telling her off for doing a good job. His eyes then fell on the girl taking to her and Harry felt himself going into a daydream; he had remembered how he had described her hair, her eyes, and her lips...

Harry had a sudden urge to come up to Hermione and kiss her, but fought back considering the fact that he knew that everyone would turn to look their way. Besides, he couldn't risk her safety. All he could do was stare...

"Harry?"

"Uh, huh," he muttered, still watching Hermione.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" asked Ron, who was already helping himself to some food and had just picked up a floating bowl of mashed potatoes that he emptied onto his plate.

"Oh, er, yeah. Sorry," said Harry. Ron looked over at where Harry had been gazing and grinned.

"You just can't take your eyes off her for a minute, can you, Harry?"

Harry blushed and buried himself in his plate, making sure to get a bite of each thing that was floating around the table.

"Shut up, Ron," he said quietly.

"Who's this, now, Harry? A girl, perhaps?" said Bill who was sitting near both Harry and Ron.

"Er," said Harry as he felt the color rise in his face.

"I'd be getting jealous if you were eyeing my Fleur, but seeing as she's sitting at the other end of the table, I take it that you were staring at someone else."

"I wasn't staring," said Harry, though he knew he was still blushing furiously.

"Right," said Bill.

Hermione, however, Harry noticed, was still in a deep conversation with Ginny, but she surprisingly broke up from it for a second and Harry noticed her catch his eye, at which he grinned and returned to his food.

People were soon getting up from the dining table and the seats near him and Ron had completely cleared, at which Hermione joined them by sitting herself in a seat next to Harry, at which Ron suspended an uncontrollable fit of giggles.

She cast him a stern look and asked, "What's so funny?"

Harry laughed as well. After all, she didn't know that Ron had walked in on the both of them. "Oh, it's nothing - dear."

Hermione's blue eyes widened as she gave Harry an unbelieving stare and then looked at Ron.

"Harry, y-you didn't tell him, did you?"

"What's to be told?" said Harry, still snickering to himself.

"Well - ," said Hermione, blushing crimson.

"Nothing's...ha ha...funny,...ha ha,...Hermione," said Ron, now pounding his fist against the table, "except how you looked wearing Harry's glasses."

Hermione did not answer, but he could see that she was so red now that she had lowered her head towards the table in hopes that some of her sleek brown hair would fall on her face and cover up her reaction to the embarrassing situation.

Unfortunately for Hermione, it didn't work. Ginny had now walked up to them, probably wondering what was so funny herself and took a seat opposite Hermione.

"What did you two clowns do to her?" she asked Harry and Ron, who were both still laughing.

"Never you mind," said Hermione, who had now gotten up from the table and said, "I'll see you later."

"Where's she off to?" asked Harry.

"Rumor has it there's a huge library in this place," said Ron.

"Oh, no," said Harry, watching her go, with a frown on his face.

"Why do you care?" asked Ginny, suspiciously.

"No reason," Harry replied.

He finished the last of the pudding on his plate and got up as well, "I'll see you two later."

"Oh, no. We're coming with you, " said Ron, who had just slid his chair in and Ginny followed suit. As they turned to leave, however, Ron came back for a second muffin, but then dropped it and yelled at what Harry heard to be a rushing sound of water.

"Oh my - " he heard Ginny say.

Harry turned around and saw that a massive whirlpool had formed itself at the center of the table and was pulling all of the contents on the table inside of it; within minutes, the whirlpool ceased and the waters were calm once more, playfully splashing against the rim of the table.

"That," said Ron breathlessly, "was scary."

Harry shook his head, grinning, and walked outside of the dining hall, his eyes running through the lighthouse, trying to see where Hermione had gone. Unfortunately, the place was so big and held so many doors that Harry felt as if he were looking for her on his first day at Hogwarts.

Just then, Ron and Ginny had caught up with him and he asked, "Ron, what's going to happen to Luna?"

Ron's expression of anxiety suddenly fell and he spoke, taking a breath, "She's currently at St. Mungo's, though she was allowed to go to her house and pick up her things; that's how I met her there."

"How do you know where she lives?"

"Oh, I've known Luna for quite a while, Harry," said Ron.

"We've both known her for a while," added Ginny, explaining. "She's one of our neighbors around the Burrow."

"But you don't have any houses around-" said Harry.

"We do, but they're hidden by spells, you know, like the same sort of thing with this lighthouse and Grimmauld Place."

"Right," said Harry, though his voice was strangely unlike his own.

"Oh, Harry. I'm sorry," said Ginny quickly.

"No, really. Don't worry about it. It's...nothing, really," said Harry.

"Alright. Well, what'd you two want to do?" she said.

"Well..." said Harry, "I was going to look for Hermione (Ron made out a clearly fake cough) and tell her about what happened with Luna."

"Oooh. Good idea," said Ginny, "and I think I'll write to Neville - " but suddenly broke off, catching Ron's glare.

"What are you writing to him for?" snapped Ron.

"He does have a right to know, Ron. After all, it was him who went into the Department of Mysteries with us last year."

"Oh, right," said Ron, though still clearly not convinced.

"So, do, er, any of you know where the library is?" asked Harry, still looking around, hoping for a sign of Hermione.

"Nope. Seeing as I've only been here for only about an hour and - hey, Ginny, you should know, shouldn't you?" said Ron.

"No," said Ginny, looking slightly insulted, "are you mad? This place is huge! I can barely remember where our own bedroom is. And you want me to know the way to the library? Please!"

"Sorry," said Ron. "C'mon, Harry. Let's go. I'm sure it won't be that hard to find."

They parted with Ginny and started to walk around the lighthouse. However, Ron had no idea how wrong he really was and he and Harry just found that out when they walked from room- to-room, checking each to be the library, and finally decided to give up after viewing about one-hundred chambers.

Ron panted, "No bloody way, Harry. No more. Let's just go back to the sea turtles. I'm - I'm out of breath!"

"Just one more room, Ron," said Harry and, luckily, they struck gold, or the library that they were looking for, at least.

"Finally!" said Ron and they walked into the library, noticing that it was a circular room with the ceiling up about one-hundred feet, all covered in a massive amounts of books: big, small, wiggling, shifting, and some even shuffling around. They made their way to the center of the room where they found Hermione sitting on a couch much like the one in the Gryffindor common room and placed right before a fire place.

"Hello," she said, looking up at the two boys, each sitting on her side.

"How did you find this place?" said Harry.

"We've been looking for you for hours!" said Ron.

"Sorry," said Hermione, "but, I don't know, I guess it's sort of like an instinct or something. I walked up to this room and I just knew that it was the library. And you won't believe the books they have! I mean, they have some books here that were written over a thousand years ago by - "

"Breathe, Hermione," said Ron, "it's not that amazing."

She scowled, "Just because books might not interest you, Ron, doesn't mean that they're not important. For example, I've found charms in here that are used in the Department of Mysteries. Oooh, I bet I'm not supposed to be looking these up, but they're just so - "

"The Department of Mysteries?" Harry suddenly spoke.

"Yeah, do you - ?"

"Let me see," said Harry, talking the book from her and examining it closely.

His heart leapt as he read the subtitles: The Bubble of Youth, The Songbird of Enchantment, The Minds of Wisemen, The Predicted Prophesies, The Black Hole Portal, The White Hole Portal, The Black Veil of Hades, The Secret of Secrets...

"This - this is it, Hermione!"

Harry could have kissed her, and he did, at which Ron made a sound much like that of a cat with a hairball stuck inside of it's throat.

"Oh, grow up, Ron," said Hermione, who cast him a snide look.

Harry read aloud, his voice trembling with excitement, "The Black Veil of Hades - In ancient Mythology, Hades was believed to be the World of the Dead, however, the mysteries of death were only discovered centuries later by wise Afrenthologists, those studying the secrets of the other Realms, and put all of their knowledge about the World of the Souls in the Black Veil. Those known to find out the secrets whispered by the Veil were only to be killed for no living mortal was ever to hear of such words while still at large on the Earth. It was soon not only developed as the Veil of Knowledge, considering the paths that mortals would take in the After Life, but as the passage to the gates of Heaven and Hell; any soul that passed the portal would forever be trapped within the fourth dimension, only to ever return to the gate in mere whispering memories of its soul, advancing the chance to respectively communicate with the World of the Living. The Black Veil of Hades, it's most recent name, is the last remaining source of communication with the Realm of Death. Once the Black Veil has been destroyed, knowledge about the After World may be witnessed only by experiencing death him or herself. Fortunately, no power to destroy the Veil has yet been found."

Harry finished reading and was breathing so deeply that he could barely believe that his breaths were actually louder than his heartbeat. He looked up at Ron and Hermione, and could see that they were just as speechless.

Suddenly, Ron broke the silence. "Those - those people," he said, "Those Afren- whatevers, - "

"Afrenthologists?" Harry read, once more.

"Yeah," Ron breathed, "Luna - Luna told me that her - her mother - she - she was....one of them."

"What?" said Hermione.

"Yeah," said Ron, "but she was one of the last remaining ones. You - you know Neville's parent's?"

Harry and Hermione nodded.

"They - they were Afren-thingies too!"

Hermione made a very sharp intake of breath; Harry didn't know what to say.

"So - so you mean to say that they knew about the secrets of death?" she whispered.

"No," said Ron, "Luna said that they were sort of their heirs and didn't know too much about it, but there were things that they did know - secrets, you know."

Harry moved his hand around, as if hoping that it would grasp what to say. "The Longbottoms, they - they were tortured because they wouldn't reveal some sort of information, remember? But - but they were tortured after Voldemort's downfall, which means - "

"That the Death Eaters were hoping they could tell them the secrets of how to perhaps bring him back to power or - " Hermione paused, staring at Harry, tears swelling in her eyes.

"Or kill me?" he finished.

"Harry, I - " Hermione began, but he held up a hand to stop her.

"Never mind that, let's see what else it says," he said and turned back to begin reading the rest of the page.

But before Harry could read any more of the strange book, there came a sound of footsteps approaching the library, and he quickly stuffed it under his shirt; Hermione grabbed the other books that lay beside her on the couch and shoved them back into some empty spots on the shelves, after which they magically found their way back to where they belonged. They bolted towards the door, only to run into Percy.

"What are you doing here?" he asked the three of them.

"None of your business," snapped Ron.

"As Minister of Magic, I would very much like to make it my business."

"Oh, shut up," said Ron, "you know the only reason you got the job was because of Dumbledore."

Percy stiffened and walked off into the library. "I must conduct some research for the Order," he said, with his nose up in the air, which meant that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had no choice but to leave the library with the stolen book hidden deep beneath Harry's clothes.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way upstairs, back to their bedroom, with Harry still clutching the book hopelessly beneath his shirt, as if it was about to fall apart. Hermione suddenly turned to Ron. "When did Luna tell you those things?" she asked.

He looked at Harry, who shrugged; he wasn't about to tell Hermione what had happened, knowing that it was almost entirely his fault. Ron sighed and explained the event; Hermione listened tentatively, with her mouth agape.

When he finished, he then said, "And why did you tell Harry that we were related, by the way. Huh? Couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you?"

"No," said Hermione, angrily. "It's not like he would never find out, Ron. He had to know, didn't you, Harry?"

"I'd say it's a good thing," Harry replied. "At least you didn't have the burden of telling me later, did you? When you knew that I would have torn your neck for keeping something like this from me for so long?"

"Sorry, mate," said Ron. "We thought, you know, that it was for the best."

"Yeah, I know," said Harry. "C'mon. This way."

They found their way back to the sea turtle marked bedroom and spread themselves widely out onto the king water bed. Harry told Hermione about how Lupin said that the Order had now recruited an army of creatures for their side, but Voldemort had unfortunately done the same, while flipping through the book, searching for the pages on the Department of Mysteries.

"I don't see why he'd want to recruit veelas," she said, in a rather annoyed tone. "There's rather useless, aren't they?"

"Useless? Speak for yourself, Hermione. Don't you remember the attention that they get and their ability to transform into giant eagles that throw flaming fireballs?" said Ron, amazed that she could possibly find such an insult.

Hermione tutted, "Well, when you put it that way..." but, from then on, she tried to speak to Ron as little as possible.

"Here...I found it! Hmmm. What's, " said Harry and continued to read from the page, "The Secret of Secrets?"

"I dunno," said Hermione, "what does it say? I've never - "

"The Secret of Secrets - The one Power to be unknown to the Unspeakables, the Secret of Secrets, has an untraceable source of magic. Such Power is destined to be contained only inside a living soul. The greater part of the 'Secret' is that it is said to vanquish a Dark Peril that is gradually consuming the Living Realm. Without it, the world as we know it may cease to exist for mortals cannot live without love and humanity in their hearts, for they will die without it. However, despite the endless estimations that have surrounded the eternity of this Power, none have been able to console what it actually is. No philosopher alive has been able to determine the action or ways of the Power, but it is said that only a Hero, bold in his ways, that is born under the sign of Leo, the bravest of the Astrological Signs, will have a right to the Power. It cannot be captured by the hand of a mortal, nor can it be destroyed, but it can dim itself within the heart of the Possessor when endangered, uncontrollably. Therefore, the Holder can only venture losing the Power if at risk of intentionally giving his or her soul to an Evil Force, or, in other words, surrendering. If ever discovered what the Power truly is, it will be the Day of Days, for none have ever laid eyes on what is said to be the Secret of Secrets."

"Blimey," said Ron, "you don't think that's the power - ?"

" - that I have?" said Harry.

"Or the one behind that door, you know, in the Department of Mysteries - " said Hermione.

" - the one that's always - " said Harry.

"Locked," Ron finished.

Harry scanned his eyes through the text once more and snorted, "Yeah, right. You know, I don't think this book is entirely truthful. I mean, it says here that mortals cannot live without love and humanity in their hearts, for they will die without it.' I think Voldemort is living proof that that's a lie."

"I don't know, Harry. I mean, I'm sure he does have a heart considering the fact that he did forgive Wormtail."

"Are you defending You-Know-Who?" asked Ron, looking shocked.

"Heavens, no," said Hermione, "I was just saying that - "

"And we don't even know what ever happened to Wormtail," said Harry.

"Maybe - maybe he's not mortal. I mean, even Dumbledore said that he could never die," said Ron.

"You know, Ron," said Hermione, "for once, I think you're onto something."

"Really?" asked Ron, looking rather proud of what he had just come up with.

Hermione, on the other hand, looked rather anxious.

"A secret kept within the soul...that would sort of be like - " she said.

"A Secret Keeper!" said Harry.

"Yes, but it must be more than that, I mean - but wait! That's it, Harry! Don't you get it?! You're the Secret Keeper for this - this Power!" said Hermione.

"Yes, but I'm not only that, Hermione, I can actually use it, right? Subconsciously?"

"I guess...I don't know, Harry. I mean, I'm sure you can, it's just that, well, you don't exactly know how to - " said Hermione.

"But we know one thing," said Ron, and turned to Harry, "no matter what you do, Harry, you must never surrender."

Harry nodded.

"What does it say about the Black and White Hole Portals, Harry? I don't think they have anything to do with the Department of Mysteries, do they?"

"Er," said Harry, looking through the book. "Oh, here they are. The Black Hole Portal - Long have Afrenthologists searched for a way to travel between the different Realms for, in distant times, there were a great number of them; the Wizarding world was in another Realm from the Mugorthian, or more commonly, Muggle world, until one day when the Realms collided and caused the two to live in the same world. The nine planets encircling the Sun have long been home to the other Realms, Pluto consisting to be home to the Realm of Death, the most distant planet, Mars - previously the home of wizards and witches and now a sole planet, and so forth. Although no Black Hole Portals have been found - in a long search by advanced Astrologists - in our Solar System, warlocks have longed for the chance to pass through the Portal only to appear in another Realm from the White Hole Portal (See Below) and have access to all of the different Realms. Unfortunately, no such Portal has yet been located, reached, or activated to its full purpose. The only such succession has been proved with the Black Veil of Hades (See Further Below), but only to figure a transport of souls to the After World, and not from it.

"The White Hole Portal - A Portal known to transport mortals to another Realm, the White Hole Portal is at the other end of a Black Hole Portal (See Above) and may only be found in the other Realms. Philosophers have long pondered as to why no White Hole Portals have been located in our Universe, but have ceased the will to attempt to find their locations considering the immensely large mass in which we are suspended in Space."

"Well, there you have it," said Hermione, "The Black Veil of Hades was sort of like a Black Hole Portal, wasn't it?"

"But why would Voldemort destroy it?" asked Harry.

"Oh, isn't it obvious, Harry? Voldemort's sole purpose in life is to overcome death, and if there was one thing he could do, it was to destroy the portal that led to it!"

"But, I mean, remember how it said that no such power had been found to destroy the veil? I mean, that means that he did find it, doesn't it? The question is, though, what is it?"

"I don't know," said Hermione, shaking her head, while Ron sighed deeply.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione suddenly jumped and shook the water bed as there came a knock on the door. Harry quickly stuffed the book in his shirt again and said, "Come in."

It was Neville. But it didn't look like him at all; he seemed to have grown some and looked considerably less faint than he normally does.

"Neville? What are you doing here?" asked Hermione, politely.

"Ginny invited me," he said, as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Hi, Neville," said Harry. Ron, however, looked at him rather disapprovingly.

"Why'd she invite you?" he asked, after which Hermione nudged him in his side.

He shrugged, "I was bored."

"Oh," said Ron, though not entirely convinced.

"So, what've you three been up to? Ginny told me about Luna, by the way," he shook his head. "It's too bad. She seemed like a really nice person."

"Yeah, she is," said Ron, mindlessly.

"What did you guys get on your O.W.L.'s? I got six. Gran wasn't too pleased; she said I'd have done better if I had been a bit more together. But the good news is, I got a new wand. My own, actually; the one I broke was my dad's. Gran was going mental when she found out - "

"Say, Neville," Harry interrupted, "I know this isn't a very comfortable subject, but it's important, okay? Were - did you know that your parents were Afrenthologists?"

The color in Neville's face suddenly faded and he started to clumsily fumble with his fingers.

"Yeah...yeah, Gran told me - she told me they were. That's - that's why they," he gulped, "you know."

"Oh, Neville, we know. We're sorry," said Hermione, quickly.

Neville just seemed to notice that she was there.

"Hermione! What did you do to your hair? It looks so different! It's uncanny! And your eyes are blue too!"

Hermione's cheeks went slightly pink.

"Well, I - you know, went through a bit of a change, I guess you could say - "

Ginny just walked in the room.

"Well, I see you all've already found Neville."

"Actually," said Ron, "he found us."

But Ginny ignored him.

"Did you find the library okay?" She turned to Harry.

"Yeah," he said, "we found out quite a bit of some stuff, actually. I now see how Hermione can possibly find things interesting to read."

Hermione blushed and said, "Well, I'm glad you see things my way." Harry grinned and Neville, Ron, and Ginny stared at the two.

"What?" asked Harry once again.

"Nothing....nothing," said Ginny, with a slightly mischievous smile.

She sighed and fell on the bed. "It's less than a month until school starts again."

"Oh, no," whispered Harry, who had just remembered something - how in the world he going to keep his relationship with Hermione a secret? He couldn't jeopardize her life, especially with Draco Malfoy and his Slytherin pugs on the loose.

"What's wrong, Harry?" asked Hermione.

He swallowed, looking from her to Ginny, to Neville, to Ron - Ron? Wait a minute, thought Harry, Ron!

"Ron, I need to ask you a favor. A very, very big favor."

"What?" he looked confused.

"Er," he looked over at Ginny and Neville.

"Oh, come on, Harry," said Hermione, "you can trust them; they're not going to tell anyone. Remember, they faced Voldemort's Death Eater's with us last year, which means that their loyalties lie with you."

"That's right," said Neville, and Ginny nodded.

"All right," said Harry. "Ron," he said, "I need you to pretend to date Hermione for me."

"WHAT?" he yelled. Hermione got up, looking stricken and disgusted at the same time. Ginny and Neville looked no better.

"Harry," breathed Ginny, "do you know who they are?"

"Yes, of course I know who they are," said Harry, "they're my best friends."

Ginny opened her mouth to speak but he continued, "And their cousins, which makes it perfectly safe for me to trust Ron with Hermione."

"Wait a minute," said Ginny, "are you telling me that the two of you are - are - " she struggled for words, pointing at Harry and Hermione.

"Yes, Ginny. We're together," said Harry.

"I knew it!" she shrieked and hugged Hermione telling her, "Oh, Congradulations!" as Hermione blushed furiously. Neville looked from Harry to Hermione in utter disbelief.

"Wow," he finally said, "that's some change!"

"Yeah," said Harry, and turned to Ron, "so will you do it?"

"Bloody hell no!" said Ron. "What's wrong with you, Harry? Why would I do that?"

"You don't have to kiss her or anything. I just need to convince the rest of the school that the two of you are together so that they won't suspect that Hermione's my girlfriend. I don't want her to be in danger, Ron. Not like him...not like Sirius."

Ron looked up sadly at his best friend and then at Hermione. He sighed and said, "All right, mate. I'll - I'll do it. But only because you asked me to and," he turned sternly to Hermione, "no kissing of any bloody sort, you hear me?!"

"Wait a minute," said Hermione, "whoever said that I agreed to this?"

"C'mon Hermione," said Harry, "you know that I only want you to be safe! If Malfoy - "

"I don't care if Malfoy eats dung! I am not doing something completely ridiculous just to - "

"Oh, well, come now, love," said Ron, teasingly, "It's not that ridiculous. I mean, all we have to do is hold hands in the hallway or something, right?" he turned to Harry.

"Well," said Harry, "you might have to go to Hogsmeade together and, you know, talk fluffy to each other if anyone's in earshot, I guess."

Ron and Hermione shuddered, looking at each other, and then turned their heads away in disgust.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," said Harry, "I just don't see any other way..."

Ginny sighed, "Wow, Harry. You must really love her."

Harry and Hermione blushed.

"Yeah, I do," said Harry, who leaned over and kissed Hermione.

"Oh, come now," said Ron. "I've seen enough of that! Let's go," he said to Neville and Ginny, "these two need a room." leaving Harry and Hermione alone, sharing a desperate kiss.


End file.
